Dynamism
by keem
Summary: First she hates him. Then she uses him. Eventually she will succumb to his charms and she will love him. The rest are just details. LxMisa.
1. you're not a friend, just a lover

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Death Note_. Lyrics provided by _Pierce the Veil_.

--

**Dynamism**

--

_And now that Cinderella's gone  
(She swallowed up the sun)  
A middle-class explosion could be nice  
(If we're the dynamite)  
Let us prey_

--

She hates him.

She hates his unkempt hair, his raccoon eyes, his perverted smile. The fact that he's always _right_. She hates everything about him. Despite this, she also knows she has to tread carefully around him, to prevent a potential catastrophe: he still suspects she is the second Kira, and she doesn't want to give him a reason to lock her up again. Still, she can't mask the displeasure that crosses her face whenever she enters a room and Ryuuzaki is there, still chained to her beloved Light, preventing them from spending some quality alone-time.

What's worse is how coolly unaffected the detective is by her obvious dislike of him; his blank, almost soulless gaze as he watches them interact. He is so plain, so _lifeless_, whereas Misa-Misa is an explosion of colorful emotions, of bi-polar spontaneity, of bright smiles and sparkles and frowns and malice. They could not be more unlike, and she finds his bland look disquieting. Its worse when he smiles - it seems sick, somehow, _twisted_. There is ill-intent behind those eyes, something that is cold and calculating and not entirely human. His brain is one big super-computer that is powered by sugar highs. He is a machine that thrives off of justice, and a very small part of her is afraid of him, beneath the many layers of loathing.

He is dangerous, and she knows it; he is an impenetrable fortress whose walls she could not breach with harsh words alone. He also serves as a barrier himself - not only a tangible thing that keeps her from being with Light, as they are bound together, practically a single entity - but a mental construct as well. Because she can't _connect_ with Light here, not with Ryuuzaki so intently watching.

Light and her have lost something between them in their retraction of memories, and until he is Kira again, she has to simply bide her time. Meanwhile, Ryuuzaki is poison to her current relationship with the auburn-haired youth; already she can feel the dynamic between them shifting, and she's afraid of what may become of it. She barely had Light before; now, with their time together fleeting and under constant surveillance, she can find whatever precarious strands she may have collected in this new era slowly unraveling apart. She is going to lose Light, at this rate; Ryuuzaki has literally come between them and is now rendering them asunder.

She doesn't just hate him. She _loathes _him.

**--**

She plays with him.

And after all this time, she has finally proved he really _is_ a pervert. Before, she had accused him of harboring inappropriate thoughts concerning her; of mentally undressing her in his mind. Now, however, she has actual, hard evidence against him as she stands naked before him. _Misa-Misa_ is the detective now, and she is collecting all this data, committing each of these tiny details to memory so that she can use it against him later on. She watches as his hands clumsily pull free the bra from her shoulders. She absorbs the hungry look on his face, his look of complete and utter concentration as his hands awkwardly caress her. She feels the hardness of him on her thigh as they draw close.

_Look who's on top now, Ryuuzaki!_

Light would bear witness to it if he was awake, but he isn't, oblivious and unaware in slumber. The fact that he is there acts as a stimulant: it adds to the sheer perversity and wrongness of it. It excites her. Ryuuzaki seems hesitant to divulge in this little affair with an audience, even if it's presently unconscious, but the youth and the raven haired man are still bound, so there is no avoiding it. A few times prior to this encounter, Misa-Misa had managed to seduce Light in the dark, infrared camera and the other detective's insistence be damned. She had taken perverse pleasure at how uncomfortable L had seemed, in the presence of two hot and horny teenagers, thinly veiled beneath a sheet just two feet away. She had snuck glances at him back then, delighting in the way he _twitched _every time the chain that bound him to Light was unavoidably yanked. Afterwards, as she escaped into the night, she had looked right into those soulless eyes and _smiled_, because he was unnerved and blushing and it served him right.

And now, the voyeur has become the participant. This is also very obviously his first time. This only heightens her enjoyment. It pleases her to know that she is injecting life into those veins - that she is the source of his adrenaline, his arousal, his want and his need. That he is fallible, susceptible to her charms. This is a victory for her - both an intellectual and physical one. In this moment she has unraveled Ryuuzaki, has pierced his carefully constructed barriers. ­

In some ways, she has come even further than Light in this respect, and she swells with pride at the notion. This is Ryuuzaki, open and exposed before her. She still doesn't know his name, but she knows his identity - she knows that he wants her.

_Oh, how the mighty have fallen. _

She also knows that he loves her, and has loved her for a very long time. In this discovery, he has just placed a powerful weapon in her delicate but capable hands. Misa is about to take something from him, something previous and tender and irreplaceable. And although what she's about to do could technically be considered cheating (but is there anything really between them, right now? has there _ever_ been? It's so hard to tell, with this Light-who-is-not-yet-Kira), she knows (hopes) Light would understand. Because she is about to destroy L, and at the very least, _Kira_ would encourage the undoing of his enemy. If Light were to ever find out in his current state (if he were to even _care_), she can always take solace in the fact that the old Light would condone her acts.

She can't wait until the day where he will become Kira again. And right now, the only thing that is holding Light back from bringing in a new world – holding Light back from his memories, from _her_ – is L.

_One for one, Ryuuzaki! If you intend to keep Light away from me, the very least you could do is give me _you_ in exchange. It's only proper, after all._

(She wants so badly to be useful to Light. And because she can't kill Ryuuzaki, since she currently has no Death Note to speak of, she will have to settle for _this_.)

Her cherry-colored lips brush against his ear as she leans in close. She feels gooseflesh erupt on his shoulder as she takes him by the arm. "Come to bed with me," she says in a husky voice.

She leans back to take in the expression of his face. His lips are parted in a slight 'o' shape, his eyes bright and alive with the first emotion she has ever seen in them. He is hesitant, he is hopeful, he is frightened and he is wanton. He is all these things, but above all, he is hers. Completely.

_You're mine. _

_--_

_One for one, Ryuuzaki! _An homage to L's line during his and Light's infamous fight scene (manga version).


	2. look i'm standing naked before you

Beside them, Light mumbles something in his sleep and turns his head so that he is facing them. The chain binding him to Ryuuzaki jingles, a discordant sound, and the detective freezes, like a deer caught in a pair of headlights. He stares at Light, wide-eyed, and seemingly loses all motivation to fornicate. Misa fights back an irritated sigh and tries to take control again.

"Ryuuzaki, look at Misa."

Reluctantly, he does.

"Why don't you take off your clothes, get more comfortable?" she suggests huskily. He hesitates, and then shakes his head, mutely. She gives him a terse look. "Ryuuzaki, lay _down_." Her voice is breathy hiss, exotic and malevolent. He does not budge, and she glares, hands on her hips. Even topless and clad only in panties, she knows she is a formidable adversary.

"Misa-san," he says. "Light-kun is not a deep sleeper, and I think it would be unwise to allow anything to progress here under these circumstances." He indicates the chain. "There's an eighty-percent probability that he will wake up in mid-copulation…"

"Ryuuzaki," she whispers firmly, seizing him by the shoulders. "Could you maybe stop thinking for about ten seconds?"

"Impossible," the detective responds immediately with a shake of his head, surprising her. "And even if my cognitive state of mind could be halted for such a prolonged period of time,"—she rolls her eyes here—"I sincerely doubt it would only take ten seconds to—"

She manages to silence him by pressing her lips firmly over his. When she pulls back, Ryuuzaki simply stares at her, the words literally stolen right from his mouth.

Misa brings her hands up, smoothing her hands over the rounded edges of his shoulders and up the slender nape of his neck before tracing her hands over the contours of his face. Ryuuzaki's eyes obligingly fall closed as she runs her fingers over his pallid cheeks and thin, flimsy eyelids. His bone structure is delicate, feminine almost, pale and unblemished and quite lovely, she realizes as she inspects it with her digits more intimately.

She then brings her hands up and combs them through his ratty hair, absently trying to pull free the tangles. The sensation of her fingers running through his matted locks must feel good against his scalp, because she feels tiny little goose-bumps erupt on the back of his neck, and his lips parts in a slightly 'o' shape. She seizes her chance and thrusts her tongue in this time, tasting the sugary taint of him as she explores the inside of his mouth. Ryuuzaki seems stunned, his mouth slack in reply, before finally his own tongue hesitantly begins to return the favor.

"Has Misa convinced you that this is a good idea yet?" she asks some moments later, after finally pulling away. She notes, with wicked satisfaction, that his otherwise alabaster features had been painted pink.

Ryuuzaki remains vaguely uncertain; still, his resolve is crumbling, and all he needs is a gentle push in the right direction. Submission is imminent, and Misa tingles in anticipation.

"Don't you want Misa?" she asks, feigning hurt.

He swallows. "Yes," he tells her truthfully, and she smiles.

"Then what's _wrong_?"

"Light-kun is my friend." He sneaks another look at the slumbering boy and Misa grabs him by the chin, jerking his head so that he is looking up at her. He tries to avert his gaze but she clicks her tongue.

"No, _no_. Look at Misa. Misa thought you were under the impression that the infatuation was purely one-sided anyway. So what does it matter to you, or to Light, if that's the case?" Ryuuzaki appears suddenly nervous.

Her voice turns gentle, coaxing. "Ryuuzaki, is this your first time?" She already knows the answer, but she can feign ignorance in order to help him feel more comfortable. She can pretend to understand. She can create a protective bubble for them to share, and once he feels safe, she can take him and mold him, coax him into blooming. And then, after she has him, she can _destroy_ him.

He answers with a question with one of his own. His toes twitch, rubbing against one another uncertainly. "Misa, what do you want from me?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" she purrs, feeling a twinge of excitement. _This is it_. She switches to first-person for calculated effect, drops her voice an octave: "I want you inside me."

This is the metaphorical straw that breaks the camel's back, and Ryuuzaki, at last, gives into temptation. He pushes all uncertainty beside, morals abandoned_,_ and goes in for the kill. After all, Ryuuzaki isn't exactly a portrait of self-restraint, not by anyone's definition: he is a wanton, impulsive creature by nature. This is evident in his indulgence of the sweetest of treats without any sort of apparent regard. So what's it to him, to partake in the sins of the flesh? This guilty little pleasure will be added to the menu, standing defiantly alongside all the other gluttonous depravity.

He kisses her back fiercely, and she smiles against his lips. _I've got you now, Ryuuzaki. _"Take your clothes off," she whispers, as she reaches between them and grabs the hem of her lacey undergarments, pulling them down over her round hips.

There's nothing he can do about the shirt, being bound to Light, but that's hardly an important article anyway. Despite the sudden surge of ferocity, his hands tremble slightly as he unbuttons the front of his jeans, yanking down the zipper and shimmying out of his pants entirely. Beneath his boxers are white, plain, and _virginal_. This pleases her, and before he can grab them she takes the edge of them first and does it for him.

For a moment they simply stare at one another. His eyes very brazenly absorb her in her nakedness, and she takes his own form in with long, searching glances. There is mutual hunger here, although each stems from a different source. He has a rapt look of utter adoration, desire mingled with slight apprehension and nerves, and she is in full predator mode, a puppeteer who is just sidling into place and taking up her marionette's strings. She is in completely control now, and pushes him back onto the bed beside Light.

The auburn-haired teen murmurs again in his sleep as the bed sinks slightly beneath Ryuuzaki's added weight. The detective's gaze flickers over to him but Misa's naked form demands his attention, and it only takes a split second before his focus is back on her. Misa climbs on top of him, blond hair cascading over her shoulders in long, lustrous waves, obscuring her features. She drinks in the wanton expression of him as she aligns their bodies, and does her best to savor this moment.

"Are you ready?" she asks under the pretense of actually caring, but doesn't wait for a proper response. She drops herself down on top of him, lets him sink into heaven. And as Ryuuzaki gasps in surprise, she knows that it is in this moment that they have crossed past the point of no return. The conversion has been made, and Ryuuzaki's devotion has been assured. Now, there is nothing left but his demolition.

--

The only time he makes a noise during the whole encounter is when he comes, a strangled kind of gasp as he gives one last thrust of his slender hips. The chain that binds him to Light rattles under the strain, but still Light does not stir. Misa digs her nails into his shoulders, eyes closed as she rides the wave out, tossing her head back as he lurches beneath her, and then just like that, it's over.

_Oh Ryuuzaki_, she thinks almost fondly, as she brushes a stray, sweaty lock of onyx-colored hair from his flushed face. The look he gives her in response is undeniably tender. _I will never love you. _


	3. and my favorite color is shame

She doesn't really stay to bask in the afterglow - she has brought him over to the dark side, and his infatuation has been assured, so she's finished for now. She mentally congratulates herself on a job well done, kisses him goodnight and whispers a half-hearted excuse for leaving - "it will be morning soon, Ryuuzaki, and I don't think it would be in our best interests for me to be here when Light wakes up" - and he nods mutely as she pulls her clothes on, because _of course _he understands; he's all too aware that they cannot exist outside of this twisted space she has created for them. They have become creatures of the night now, people who commit crimes of passion in the hours between twilight and dawn - and apparently sated, he allows her to steal away into the night.

The clock reads 4:47 when she finally shuts the door to her room behind her and makes a beeline for the bathroom. She flicks the switch on the wall as she enters and the room is immediately bathed in obtrusive white light. She kneels on the colored tile beside the tub, twists the knob on the shower and starts a bath for her that's scalding hot. When it's halfway full she rummages through the cupboard beneath the sink, seizing a bottle of expensive, rose-scented bubble bath and dumps the entire contents of it into the blistering water. Then, overcome in a sudden desperate frenzy, she practically rips her clothes off with dramatic flourish and throws herself down into the waters' painful depths.

Then, she grabs a washcloth and squirts some liquid soap on to it, lathers herself up from head to toe. Even with all the scented oils, she still reeks of him - the musky stench of sex and _L_ taints her, dirties her, and now matter how hard she rakes the washcloth over the length of her lithe and supple body she cannot rid herself of it. She continues to furiously scrub herself until her skin is pink and raw and_ still_ he lingers, his scent stubbornly clinging to her skin. All attempts to rid herself of him are futile, as she cannot escape him - he's on her tongue, in-between her legs, in her _pores_, contaminating the very root of her being.

The sudden magnitude of her actions is now impressed upon her, and she feels the first sting of tears. She feels ashamed, but not of how she's manipulating L, but how she's _wronged_ Light. Even with her noble intent, she knows she has destroyed something - something honest and lovely and golden, like Light is himself. She has _cheated_ on him. She has strayed from the path of what is right and virtuous. Never again can she say she's been true to Light - she has sacrificed her own purity in order to destroy L. And although she does not regret her actions (she's doing it for Light's benefit after all, whether he'll ever be aware of it or not) she feels a pang of loss regardless. The dynamic between them has irrevocably been shifted, _again_, and it's all L's fucking fault.

And with this weight bearing down upon her, Misa cries, and cries, and cries.

--

"What's wrong, Ryuuzaki?" Light asks the next morning. There's an un-opened box of doughnuts between them, still fresh and warm from a downtown Tokyo bakery, courtesy of Watari. L has not shown any sign of interest since their arrival some fifteen minutes ago, which is highly unusual for the raven-haired youth. The chain between them rattles as Light settles his hand on the elder boy's shoulder. "You seem... distracted."

The physical contact seems to shake L free from the fragments of his reverie. "Hm?" he asks, intelligently, looking up from the array of monitors aligned before them. He seems almost dazed.

"You haven't touched your breakfast," Light tries again, indicating the pastries between them. L's apparent lack of appetite is very unsettling to the younger man, who is unused to seeing the detective without something sweet in his hands. "Are you alright?"

"Oh? It's nothing... I was just thinking..." to which Light muses to himself in response, _when are you ever _not_ thinking_?

Still L does not reach for a doughnut, and instead, returns to the live video feed before them. His eyes flicker left and right as they scan each and every angle presented neatly before them, rapidly absorbing information. His eyes subtly linger for a half-second longer on monitor trained upon Misa's slumbering form in her bedroom upstairs. Still, this miniscule difference in length does not go entirely unnoticed by Light's hyper-visual perception, who quirks an eyebrow but does not implore the matter further.


	4. the takeover, the sweet insensitivity of

She avoids L for three straight days.

It's on the fourth day that she comes home from a modeling gig with Matsuda to discover that the entrance-way table has been cleared of its usual clutter, instead adorned with a solitary lavender rose with a bow tied around its long, elegant stem. Misa pauses as she takes notice of it, halting in mid-chatter, and Matsuda peers over her shoulder at the flower in curiosity.

"Oooh," Matsuda coos appreciatively, and Misa quirks one blonde eyebrow at him. "It's lavender," he points out, and she resists the urge to roll her eyes. A little more helpfully, he adds, "it indicates enchantment. Seems someone's really infatuated with you, Misa-Misa!" He laughs, obnoxiously, and the sound of it is grating to her. "Not that that's surprising in the least... you're a famous actress after all!" His eyebrows crease together in worry as a thought suddenly occurs to him. "But I wonder how they knew that you were staying here...? I better go tell Ryuuzaki and the others..." he bumbles off.

Misa is completely nonplussed. She picks up the rose between her forefinger and her thumb, studying its lovely contours up close.

_Really, Ryuuzaki?_ Misa thinks, frowning thoughtfully at it. _Bribery?_

_--_

It's around three AM when she finally makes up her mind and decides to pay L another visit. She leans against the door and hears the faint _tp-tp-tp!_ of someone typing furiously away on a keyboard. She knocks, once, and awaits a reply. There is a pause, and the sound of someone shifting on a bed before L's reply comes drifting from beyond the other side: "Come in."

She opens the door. The room on the other side is dark, save for the ghostly glow of the laptop's monitor on L's face. Misa lingers in the doorway for a moment, her eyes drifting over to the unconscious form of Light sprawled out on top of the comforter beside the detective. Something in her chest twists up uncomfortably at the angelic sight of him, because this is the first time she's seen him in_ days_ and it stirs up feelings of guilt and shame. She tries to suppress this and returns her gaze back to L instead. She sees that he's quite openly staring at her, taking her in her supple curves and smooth, silky skin. She's only wearing lingerie tonight, black and lacey panties with a sheer camisole that clings tantalizingly to the curve of her breasts. His face betrays no emotion, but she know that he wants her, can _feel _the desire rising off of him in waves.

"Hello, Misa-san." His listless voice pierces the silence of the room.

"Misa-Misa got your present," she says as way of a greeting, finally shutting the door quietly behind him. "Misa didn't think flowers were your _style_, Ryuuzaki."

"They aren't," L says. "I didn't send them." _He's a terrible liar_, she thinks, and approaches. L closes his laptop and looks up at her as she bends over and clasps each hand on one of his shoulders.

"Did you miss Misa?" she whispers, breathing the scent of fruit-gum on his pallid face. He does not verbally respond and instead closes the gap between them by leaning forward and brushing their lips together. Misa hums her approval, parting her lips to grant him access and he obliges, tracing her tongue delicately along the inside of her mouth. His kisses are tender, gentlemanly almost, and either he's a quick learner or more skilled than he had originally let on (which means that the first time between them could have been attributed to nerves or spontaneity, fierceness and uncertainty, or maybe all of the above.) Either way, Misa is pleased.

It is several moments before she decides to put their little make-out session on hold. She steals a glance at Light and feels that little twinge again, a tug at her heartstrings, because she just loves him _so_ much, and she hopes he never misconstrues what she's doing here, because it's all in the name of the greater good, in order to vanquish a common enemy.

_This is a noble endeavor, I swear!_

"How long has he been asleep?" she whispers.

"Light-kun went to bed just after 2:45 AM, and has been undergoing REM for approximately fifteen minutes," L rattles off immediately in response, conjuring up information from the deep recesses of his big scary super-brain, and sets the laptop on the floor beside the bed. Almost nonchalantly, he adds, "If we were to seize a prime opportunity, right now would be ideal."

She nods once. Then, a little more slyly, she asks, "do you _want_ Misa, Ryuuzaki?"

He nods, and she shakes her head, wagging her index finger in his face. She fixes him with a rueful smile.

"No, no, let's try again. Do you want Misa, Ryuuzaki?"

She watches in satisfaction as he squirms uncomfortably on the bed. He clears his throat, and then, in a voice barely above a murmur, he says, "yes." In response, Misa pulls herself up onto the bed and swings her legs over his hips so that she drops into his lap, straddling him. Ryuuzaki gives a tiny little gasp in surprise and immediately tenses up in response, glancing at Light's blissfully unaware face and then back at Misa again.

She feels the heat of him against her, and it triggers her own warmth in response. "That's better, but still not good enough, Ryuuzaki. Misa wants to hear you _say_ it."

"Misa," L hisses at her. "Must I remind you that Light-kun is sleeping a mere sixty-one centimeters away? It would be in our best interests to keep the noise level to a minimum, and that includes unnecessary vocalization such as idle conversation! Or would you rather him wake up in mid-coitus to discover the true extent of our torrid little love affair?"

_Love affair, huh? _She almost smiles at that. _In your dreams, L._

"Hm, you're probably right," Misa says, cocking her head at him in an exaggerated display of contemplation. "In which case, this whole _arrange_ment is probably a bad idea." She lifts herself up out of his lap, but before she can crawl completely out of bed he grabs her wrist with his long, skeletal fingers and steers her back on top of him.

"I want you, Misa," he gives in, and his usually blank stare holds a kind of almost-desperation. Putting L at a disadvantage makes her tingle in happiness, and she thinks the loss of control suits him. She considers toying with him some more until he adds, "please," which is what really seals the deal for her.

Few things compare to the adrenaline rush she receives from knowing that she's conquered him, _again_, and she gives an impish giggle. "Just for that, Ryuuzaki," she says, speaking quietly as to not disturb Light. "Misa is going to give you a little bonus." And she slides down the length of his body until she's resting in-between his slightly parted thighs. She tugs the zipper to his jeans down and almost immediately he lifts his hips up in response so that she can pull free what's confined within.

L's breath hitches as she takes hold of him and she glances up so that she can savor his look. His expression is best comparable to a gasping fish caught on a line, because his eyes are slightly wider than usual and he is slack-jawed, mouth ajar. It's absurdly comical and she has to look away and bite her lip in order not to laugh. His member twitches slightly in her hand and she smirks and brings her lips down to brush the edge of it exquisitely. L intakes a sharp, shuddery breath.

"M-Misa..."

That's just what she wants to hear, and she returns to the matter at hand with determined vigor. Beneath her, L all but thrashes under the duress of her administrations. She hears the rustle of comforters as he alternates between gripping the bedspread and smoothing the blonde sweep of her hair, as if unsure what to do with himself in his current predicament.

His taste is sweet in her mouth after he finishes. When she meets his gaze she can't help but notice how the man does not seem to sweat at all, even under intense physical strain. His face is contorted up in an expression of complicated relief and gratitude, and she idly thinks how the only time his mannerisms aren't carefully articulated and controlled is when he comes. This is L as nobody has ever seen him before, she thinks, not without a certain sense of accomplishment. This is L stripped of his façade; this is L, vulnerable; this is L, susceptible and ripe for the picking.

_This is my own brand of justice. _

--

_He's got it all wrong_, she thinks later, as she leans over the sink and rinses out her mouth with mouth-wash for the fifth time. _Light is a _very_ deep sleeper. _Which makes her job of deconstructing L a little easier on her, and she's sincerely grateful for the break.

Afterwards she does not cry, but she feels sick to her stomach, and the affliction does not leave her for days.


	5. these precious things, let them break

It is the night before Matsuda's scheduled appearance on Sakura TV, and everyone is on edge, Misa included. The clock strikes 3 and Misa knows it's less than twelve hours until Higuichi's confession, if everything is to go according to plan; less than twelve hours until Light is no longer under surveillance; less than twelve hours before he is Kira again. She's not exactly clear on how that's going to happen, just that it will, because Rem told her so. And so it shall come to pass.

She decides she's going to tell Light about the affair tomorrow. When Light regains ownership of his Death Note, everything will come back to him in a rush - his memories, his plans, and his hostility for Ryuuzaki, _L_. He will commend her on her deviousness, she knows, will thank her for remaining useful to him even when she isn't able to kill. She idly wonders if he will encourage her to keep up the seduction games with the dark-haired detective until Light is finally able to kill him, or whether he will relieve her of her duty. Either way, she doesn't mind - whatever works for Light, works for her.

But the time is not yet here, and Light is still oblivious and unaware. Meanwhile, Misa is heading down the hall toward Ryuuzaki and Light's shared room. She once again wonders if this will be their last night together, or if Light will permit many more to come, and then shrugs it off, decides she doesn't mind either way. This twisted little side-affair has been going on for some weeks now, and Ryuuzaki has proved himself to be a gentlemanly but suitable lover. Although Misa is always is always on top (always dominating him, always in control), Ryuuzaki is an attentive learner and has come a long way since their humble beginnings. She enjoys their encounters now, looks forward to them almost. Still, if Light wills it, she would not hesitate to let them go.

She reaches the door to their room and twists the knob as quietly as she can, peering inside. She sees L in the far corner of the room, pillows propped up behind him to support his back, waiting for her. Beside him, Light is already fast asleep, which is expected - the other Kira suspect is usually out like a light before 3 AM. Even after spending months chained to Ryuuzaki's side, the younger boy has still never managed to adapt to the detective's unpredictable sleeping pattern. Which is good for Misa, because otherwise she couldn't have never taken it this far, could not have gotten him so completely tangled up in her. She has come a long way, and has done a lot of damage, and she's fiercely proud of her accomplishments.

She latches the door silently behind her, tiptoeing across the carpet to where L is sitting. His eyes are blank and unblinking in the darkness, and he does not speak a word as she slides underneath the comforters beside him. "Hi," she breathes, and immediately gets down to business, easing her hands down the front of his jeans to see what kind of reaction she can evoke from him. Just as her fingers brush the hem of his boxers, however, he suddenly reaches out and slides those piano-player fingers through her hair, smoothing out her golden locks as he plants a very chaste kiss on the tip of her nose.

"You and I will be parting ways soon," he whispers unexpectedly, and Misa leans back in surprise.

"What?" she asks, a little louder than she probably should have. Whoops.

"It'll be lonely, wont it?" he asks, and she's not sure whether it's rhetorical or if he's actually looking for an answer. Misa feels the unpleasant tingle of a chill arc its way up her spine, and her first fluttering thought is: _he knows...!_

Then she corrects and reprimands herself, because there's no _way_ he could possibly know. L is clever, but he isn't a mind-reader, and so there is no feasible reason how he could conclude that Light plans to reassert himself as Kira this evening (heck, even _Light_ doesn't know how he's going to, at least not presently). Still, _Misa _knows that the clock is ticking down until L's days are numbered, and because of it, Ryuuzaki's otherwise usual conversational weirdness is making her paranoid.

"What're you talking about, Ryuuzaki?" She asks, and wonders if maybe he's finally figured out she's using him. Then she decides that he's probably just referring to the fact that Light will no longer be imprisoned soon, and he'll be free to leave headquarters. With Kira apprehended and Light no longer a suspect, Misa will no longer be a suspect _either_, because their apparent guilt went hand-in-hand. They were co-conspirators, and if Light is proven innocent, they are released in a packaged deal. Furthermore, Ryuuzaki knows without a doubt that wherever Light chooses to go, Misa is going to follow. Because they are in love (or _Misa_ is in love, anyway), whereas _this_ is just an affair, a nightly occurrence between sun-down and sun-up, a relationship within a relationship that can never truly be. Because Light is light, he is golden and he will always be number one, and both parties _know_.

She doesn't have to hurt him to _hurt_ him, at least not directly. Ryuuzaki may not know that this wasn't just circumstance, hormones, and need - that it was actually calculated for effect, set-up to infiltrate his defenses and poison his insides - but it doesn't matter, because the outcome is the same no matter what the reason is. He knows that Misa loves Light, and that Light always comes first, will always _continue_ to come first, no matter what the circumstance. L will always just be an indulgence, something to ease the tension, release a little steam - and nothing more. He's not even second best, he's not even a back-up - he is just an opportunity that she has seized, something that is readily able to be abandoned at any time. When Light leaves tomorrow, Misa will leave as well, and L will be all alone once again.

His emotional undoing is imminent. He has been ensnared in her web and she has injected her venom into him. Now there is nothing left to do but leave and wait for him to die. Mission accomplished, Misa can now wash her hands and be done with him. In this instance, Misa changes her mind and decides that she _won't_ tell Light after all: it isn't necessary, because her walking away after the end of tonight is far more damaging than anything else she could do down the line. It's a neat little resolution to their one-sided love affair.

Misa feels content as she gazes into the soulless black orbs of L's eyes. _Tonight is the last night that we will engage in this masquerade_, she thinks, delighting in the poetic justice of it all. _This will be my parting gift to you, L._

Misa closes her eyes and leans in for the kill, their mouths blindly finding one another in the darkness as she moves to straddle him. They take it slow tonight, each of them trying to savor this last unholy union for different reasons. Misa hears the familiar, almost comforting rattle of L's chain as his hands reach up underneath her shirt and cup her breasts within her bra. He drags his teeth across the hollow of her throat with just enough pressure applied to make her moan. She squirms in his lap, feeling the hot length of him press up against her from underneath her skirt as she tilts her head back, exposing more of herself to him.

He continues this exquisite torture for several more minutes until she finally pushes him away. "P-please, Ryuuzaki," she pants, and wonders if her eyes are glazed over with desire the way that his are. "M-Misa can't take it anymore..."

He nods in understanding, and they immediately set out to undress one another. By now Misa is aching for him, wanting him desperately, and her touch lacks any kind of eloquence as she hikes up her skirt and pulls off her panties. Meanwhile L is taking his sweet time, and so Misa loses her temper entirely and reaches between them to yank his pants down. Her hand snags L's chain accidentally on the way southward and it rattles loudly but she's beyond caring at this point, she just wants him inside her _now_. Once his jeans and his undergarments are pulled down well below his knees Misa rears up one last time, aligns their bodies, and comes back down again with a gratified hiss.

Their involvement takes on a different pace now that they have joined. They become frenzied with desire, gripping one another and panting, rocking back and forth to the rhythm of one another's motions. L has his eyes closed but Misa is looking him full on in the face, absorbing his look of utter and complete ecstasy, because this is control, she _owns_ him and she wants to be able to hoard this feeling of power over her adversary forever.

She's getting close now, and she welcomes it. Their movements become more and more erratic as everything between them comes to a head. Misa seizes a handful of Ryuuzaki's hair and yanks him against her chest as she stifles the urge to cry out. And then suddenly it's over, it's_ over_, this was their last time and so it's _over, _and somewhere in the back of her mind she's almost sad to see it go because L has come so far, he's learned to be so _good _and the rush that comes with it is absolutely incomparable to any other experience she's ever had.

Misa keeps him cradled against her chest as she begins to come down from her high. Her hands still have him by the hair, and she realizes with smug satisfaction that the dark strands are damp beneath her touch (damp, he's _sweating_, she has actually made him sweat. Finally!) Misa heaves a pleasurable sigh and L collapses backwards onto the bed with Misa still clinging to him.

For a moment they simply lay like that, with Misa draped across L's pale, slender torso as they try in vain to regain their breathing. Just as Misa's heart rate returns to normal, however, someone clears their throat beside them.

"What the fuck," comes a voice, frightfully alert and nearby, "is going _on_."

It's not exactly a question, since the answer is plainly obvious. Misa has to bite back a scream as she feels adrenaline arch up her veins like battery acid, hot and vivid and jagged. She swings off of Ryuuzaki immediately, pulling some of the comforters with her, but the damage is already done because Light is awake and he _knows_.

Misa is perfectly terrified, whereas L seems completely unperturbed by the brunette sitting up beside them.

"Oh, hello, Light-kun," he says mildly, almost pleasantly. "I thought that you were asleep."

And Light punches him in the face.


	6. the end, oh the end, we live again

The fight that ensues is a parody of an earlier one. The force of Light's blow sends L sprawling across the bed and onto the floor, taking the comforters and Light with him as he goes. Misa screams as the extent of their sins is revealed in the form of her naked flesh, and immediately goes to rectify the situation by finding her clothes. As she scurries around the room, searching for her undergarments, Light struggles with the blankets he's become hopelessly entangled within. In the chaos that follows, L scuttles about, crab-like, looking for his boxers before he finds them wadded up under the bed. He pulls them on over his slender legs just as Light rips free of the comforters and lurches forward to punch him again.

This time, however, L is ready - as Light moves to throw himself upon him, the detective falls onto his back, legs coiled up against his chest, and lets them explode away from in a fury. His feet strike Light in the stomach with the force of a ballistic missile and the two of them go tumbling into the edge of the bedpost. There is a resounding 'thud!' as Light's head makes contact with the wooden frame, and for a few moments he simply lays there, evidently trying to regain his breath. When Light grimaces and peels himself away from the furniture, he seems significantly less blood-thirsty, perhaps due to the concussion he's just received. However, the blow to the head has done little to curb his anger. Misa has never seen Light so furious, and the state of him frightens her.

"I can't believe... you... I would have never..." he sputters unintelligibly in his rage. "... In the same bed as me?"

"Relax, Light-kun," L says with borderline cheeriness. "Or you shall give yourself a brain aneurysm."

"I'm going to kill you," Light snarls at him hatefully. "With my _bare hands_."

"The probability of you being Kira has just now risen to twelve percent."

Misa covers her mouth in horror, as her gaze flicks between the two nervously. L looks almost smug, but Misa knows one thing for certain: if Light had been looking at _her_ that way, she would not be half-simpering; she would be running in the opposite direction as fast as she possibly could. Light looks positively murderous, beyond reason and rationale. She actually fears for L's safety. _(Please, Light, you can't kill him _yet_, otherwise you're _really_ going to be in big trouble_.)

Light's fists clench and unclench at his sides. He seems to be mentally counting to ten. "No," he says finally, through gritted teeth. "You're not worth the effort. You're just..." he closes his eyes and hisses out the last word: "Scum."

When he opens them again, his focus is on Misa. "And you. Aren't _you _supposed to be my self-proclaimed girlfriend?"

"Light..." she begins hesitantly, "It's... it's not what it looks like..."

"No," L says mildly, with that same shadow of a smile. "I'd say it's exactly what it looks like, actually." Both Misa and Light shoot him a look, before the latter quickly looks away. He is literally trembling in his rage. L cocks his head at Misa as she glares at him, and adds, with a little shrug: "I just don't see a reason in deceiving him, Misa-san. Light-kun has excellent observational skills, and impressive deductive reasoning to match. It would not be hard for him to come to a correct conclusion regarding the matter. To think he couldn't put two and two together would be insulting to his intelligence."

"Ryuuzaki," Misa groans miserably. "Just shut up."

"Misa," when Light speaks his voice sounds different. There is still underlying rage there, but it is different somehow: anguished, almost. "I thought you loved me?"

Misa is shocked, and secretly pleased, that Light is visibly shaken by their copulation; clearly, he is harboring some feelings for Misa she wasn't sure he possessed in her current state. His inquiry of her affection towards him only further proves this, and suddenly seeing him such a state of distress almost sends her spiraling into a confession. "Light, you don't understand, I only did it because..." she drifts off into silence, as it would dangerous to reveal her true intention regarding the affair in front of an audience, and to a Kira-who-is-not-yet-Kira. Light wouldn't understand anyway.

So instead, L brings it upon himself to fill in the blanks for her: "...Because you are Kira, Light-kun, and you would only encourage the emotional destruction of your enemy." His vague smirk turns into a full-fledged, satisfied grin: the knowing smile of someone who's plainly aware that they're right.

"...Misa was going to say: 'I was seized by a fit of passion and loneliness', but _okay_," Misa says quickly, hoping her shock doesn't give her away. (_I will admit nothing, he has no idea that he's really right until I make an affirmation. He's a clever little bastard, but I will never slip-up, not when we're so_ close.) The fact that L has reached this conclusion all on his own is unnerving, to say the least, and for the first time Misa wonders if he was playing her as much as she was playing him.

"Oh, well, that makes everything better then," Light snorts sarcastically. "So _she_ was using _you_ to cure her loneliness, or her boredom, or _whatever_," he rolls his eyes as he turns between the two of them in disgust, "and _you_ were using _her _in hopes of somehow finding evidence to support your Light-Yagami-is-the-first-Kira theory. Meanwhile, no one thinks twice about the fact that, oh, I don't know, _my feelings are at stake here._"

He rounds on Misa suddenly. "I don't fault you," he says, surprising her. "Not entirely, anyway. I didn't reciprocate in the beginning. I get it, fine, you found someone else to pass the time with. But... _him_? Really?" Then he turns to L in a fury. "But you, you're despicable. I told you. You encouraged me." Misa blinks at Light's words in confusion; she has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. "You're the one who even helped me pick it out! You were the one who suggested lavender! You came with me to deliver it! And then you go and backstab me, sleep with her on the side? That's really rich, Ryuuzaki."

"Wait, what?" She asks, astonished. "That rose was from _you_?"

"I _told_ you I didn't send it," L reminds her.

Light ignores both of them. "So that's why you did it, huh? Was it worth it to betray me? All of this, just to weed her of information, to get an insider's perspective, just on the off-chance she would slip up and reveal some information to pin me as Kira?"

"Partially," L admits with a shrug. "But mostly I did it because I wanted to."

Light's face contorts up in rage and his fists come up, but still he does not swing. "I thought we were _friends_," he continues, with great difficulty. "I guess I was wrong. Misa, I can't even stand to look at you. Please leave," he instructs, deliberately not meeting her now watery gaze. "I don't want to see your face, either, Ryuuzaki, but I don't have much choice until the case is resolved tomorrow."

"Light -" she begins, but the brunette simply sees her out with a dismissive wave of his hand. Uncertain, humiliated, and ashamed, she gathers up the rest of her belongings and flees the room entirely. Halfway down the hall, deserted and aggrieved, she bursts into tears.

--

Of course, when Light becomes Kira again on the eve of Higuichi's capture, he begins to more fully appreciate what Misa has brought upon herself to accomplish. He is pleased, charmed even, that she would go to such lengths in hopes of destroying a common enemy, even if L managed to see right through it. Still, the detective has no solid proof against him, only a half-baked idea about what he thought Misa was up to. Regardless of the results, Light secretly acknowledges it as a noble pursuit, and is sated.


	7. build god, and then we'll talk

**A/N: **L came out a little chatty in this chapter, but there's an underlying motive for that. This chapter was a lot of fun to write, and I'm glad I had a chance to include Aiber and Wedy in _Dynamism_. They're just cameos for now, but they could always become more relevant to the story later, if I decide to go that route. And now, I finally introduce to you: the plot advancement I've been talking about this entire time. xD R&R.

--

"Now, in their love, which was stronger, there were seeds of hatred and fear and confusion growing at the same time: for love can exist with hatred, each preying on the other, and this is what gives it its greatest fury."

- T.H White, _The Ill-Made Knight_

--

**interlude**

"Misa," Light whispers into her hair as they grasp one another in a fierce embrace. "I want you to dig something up at a location I'm about to tell you. And make sure nobody is watching you when you do so."

_Light…!_ She thinks, with a surge of happiness. _You regained your memories! I thought so… you seem to have forgiven me for my sins… Oh, Light, I was only doing it for your sake… for the sake of a new world. L is a bad man and… _Her line of thought halts abruptly as Light begins speaking again. Misa listens with the entirety of her being, carefully absorbing every piece of information essential to finding the location and helping Light.

After he finishes mapping it out for verbally, he asks seriously, "can you remember all that?"

"I can!" she chirps excitedly, leaning further into the warmth of his chest. "Oh, don't worry Light, Misa-Misa wont disappoint!"

"You never disappoint me," he says reassuringly, in a voice scant above a husky murmur. It sends a shiver of delight slinking down her spine, and she has to bite back a squeal. He _approves_. "And if you do this one last thing for me, I will love you forever."

She beams up at him with absolute sincerity. She wants so desperately to be loved. "I'll do my best, Light!" she says, and he leans forward, ever-so-gently brushes her lips with his own. Misa's legs buckle beneath her but Light's arms keep her from falling; afterwards, she leaves the lobby of the Taskforce headquarters in a daze.

--

Light finds it hard to keep a straight face when he goes upstairs to where L and the other Taskforce members are waiting for him. _It's only a matter of time now_, he thinks, suppressing the satisfied grin that threatens to overtake his features as he opens the door to the surveillance room. _Your days are numbered, L._

"Ah, Light-kun, I'm glad you're back," L says serenely, perched upon his chair in a manner not unlike a gargoyle. "I'm pleased to note that you have apparently forgiven Misa-san."

The observation is of no real importance to the other members except Matsuda, who is always sticking his nose in other people's business, where it certainly did not belong. "Wait, what?! Light was mad at Misa-Misa?!"

"Quiet, Matsuda," Chief Yagami says in a warning. "That's hardly important right now." The policeman's silent but working mouth falls shut like a trap, his ears glowing red with embarrassment for being reprimanded.

L waits patiently for a moment, in which Matsuda mumbles an apology, and then smiles blandly at Light. _If you knew what kind of danger you're in, L_, Light thought smugly to himself, y_ou wouldn't be smiling at me like that. _"Ah, yes, now that everyone is presently accounted for, there's something I'd like to discuss with you all…"

--

She's been waiting at the bus station for a little over twenty minutes now when the bus finally arrives. Just as she's about to climb aboard, however, a hand clasps her roughly on the shoulder and steers her back on the sidewalk. Misa cries out in a mixture of surprise and outrage as the glass doors to the vehicle slide gently away, and it rumbles away from the curb.

"Hey, you jerk!" She says, twisting around to glare at the other person. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" She blinks in surprise when she sees that it is a woman, an astonishingly pretty woman; American, with blond hair and clad in an expensive Armani dress-suit. She is wearing satellite sunglasses and has bold, red lipstick.

"I'm apprehending you," the woman says, in perfect Japanese. "For suspicion of being the second Kira."

"Not _this_ again," Misa says, slapping the elder girl's hand away. "I've already been cleared of all charges, okay? They let me go today!"

"Well, apparently there's been a change in plans," the woman says, and abruptly there is a pair of cuffs slapped onto Misa's wrists, locked into place so swiftly and precisely she's not even sure how they got there.

"Hey! Just who do you think you are, anyway?" Misa says, staggering backwards. "I-I want some police identification or something!"

"My name is Wedy, and I work directly for L," the woman answers coolly. "That's all the identification you need." As Misa gapes at her in horror, she hears the footsteps of someone approaching her from the rear.

"Sorry, mon cherie, but I'm going to have to blindfold you now," comes his svelte voice, just before the bandana comes down over her eyes.

--

Voices. Cars. Footsteps. _Sounds_. Someone slides their hands under her armpits, hoisting out of the vehicle like a toddler from a high-chair. There is the flat of someone's palm against her back, large and warm, leading her forward.

"Watch your step," he says, with just a hint of a French accent. She stumbles over the curb and Misa hears the amused snort of Wedy beside her, off to her left. Misa hates her passionately, and glares in that general direction. The man chuckles. There is a faint swish of automatic doors sliding open, and Misa is led down a long, seemingly infinite stretch of hallway, Wedy's heels sounding loudly on the tile as they go.

A lady's voice comes on over an intercom, assured and unruffled. Misa can't make out what she's saying over the dull roar of other peoples' voices around her, but it doesn't matter: she knows where she is. She's at the airport. She is lead through another set of sliding glass doors and the wispy breeze of artificial air-conditioner hits her full on in the face. They make a left, lead her down another hallway, and abruptly she is pulled to a stop before a door; one of her companions knocks, and a familiar voice beyond the threshold says faintly, "come in."

They do. She hears the door click shut behind her, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of someone twisting a lock. She feels the heat of both of her abductors on either side of her, like bodyguards. But she knows they aren't bodyguards. They are _kidnappers_.

"You can take the blindfold off," L says, and Misa glares at him from across the room as her vision is no longer obscured.

"Don't give me that look," L says easily, standing slouched in the corner opposite of her. "You're perfectly aware as to why we're here."

"Misa-Misa hasn't the slightest, actually," she lies, doing her best to appear offended. It's not hard, because she _is_ offended, to some degree; but more than that she's worried, because_ how could he have found out_?

"You can feign ignorance for as long as you want, Amane," L says, completely unperturbed by her display of innocence. So I'm Amane now, not Misa-san, huh? "But it will not change the outcome of the situation. We both know that you are the second Kira."

"You don't have any proof of that!"

"Not yet," L admits with a shrug. "But I'm working on fixing that miniscule little detail as of now. In the meantime, with Higuichi's mysterious death, I have decided that it would be in my best interests to go back into hiding. Although the Task Force currently has possession of Higuichi's Death Note, I have come to the likely conclusion that there are, in actuality, two notebooks, so with another one floating around, you can understand my concern."

Misa thinks she must have betrayed herself with a slight change in expression, because L smiles at her and says, "yes, I thought so." He shoves his hands into his pockets.

"Have you heard the expression, 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer', Amane?" He doesn't wait for a response, and Misa is unwilling to give him one anyway. "That is precisely my reasoning here, for taking you prisoner. I have no doubt in my mind that you are the second Kira, and the one who possesses the ability to kill with only a face. But since you have no Death Note to utilize the powers of, I have little problem with keeping you in such close proximity. If anything, it assures my safety: I can make it so that you will not be able to, under any circumstances, get your capable hands on such a weapon."

_How could he have possibly figured it all out? _Misa wondered in bewilderment. _It's like… like he can read our minds or something…! Damn it, Light, I'm so sorry… I've failed you…_

"Obviously, I can't handcuff you to me like I did with Light, keeping in mind the differences in gender," L continues. "However, I _can _keep a close eye on you if I take you with me as we depart from Japan."

_He's… he's going to separate me from Light!_ Misa thought in a panic, feeling the first trickles of cold sweat drip down the side of her face. _He's going to cut our communication to assure his safety! Hopefully Light can get ahold of the notebook himself and… no, but he doesn't have L's name! I've got to figure out what it is, somehow, and manage to get it to Light as quickly as possible… but how? _

"I have lied to the other Taskforce members and told them that the case is considered closed," L said, inspecting the dirt under his fingernails. "Meanwhile, I will continue to pursue other leads on my own, with you at my side." He smiles at her. "I've even generously allowed them to keep possession of Higuichi's notebook. It is stored in an underground vault that needs a security pin from each member of the Taskforce in order to open it. That way, I'm more than certain Light will not be able to tap into its power source once again."

_You… you let them have the notebook?_ Misa thinks, surprised. Even with the precautions L has just described, she finds the thought of him relinquishing hold of the notebook highly unlikely.

She doesn't say anything, but L seems to read her expression accurately anyway. "You see, I don't need the entire notebook," he says, the smile slowly expanding until it's an outright grin, sinister and untrustworthy. "Just a tiny piece."

_He's going to test the thirteen-day rule,_ Misa thinks, stricken with fear as she looks into the soulless black orbs that serve as his eyes. _And then we're in really big trouble._

--

**A/N (cont):** I might be taking a bit of a break for a while. I'm kind of burnt out xD And right now I really need to go back and edit all the glaring errors in the previous installments... ick. Until next time, kids!


	8. pretty people never lie

but i'm warning you, don't ever do those crazy, messed up things that you do  
if you ever do i promise you i'll be the first to crucify you

- Barenaked Ladies

**i.**

L is up to something, and Light is anxious and apprehensive as a result. The announcement that L made just a few hours prior – the proclamation that the Kira case is considered closed – is bullshit, and Light knows it. It is very obviously just a ruse devised in hopes of luring the brunette into a false sense of security; it is also so incredibly transparent that Light isn't sure how L expects him to fall for it. Even still...

_"I've come to the conclusion that Higuichi must have killed himself in order to avoid prosecution,"_ L's words had been slightly muffled around the thumb inserted between his teeth_. "A wise decision on his behalf, as it was likely he would have received the death penalty anyway."_

_Yeah, right_, Light thinks darkly as he recalls the conversation. He shuts the door quietly behind him and pockets his keys, unconsciously running his hands through his unruly hair. Now that he's been released from confinement, he really should go out and find a barber, and makes a mental note to go out later in order to do just that.

The eldest Yagami child hears the sound of Sayu's radio blaring upstairs, and wonders uncomfortably if his mom is presently here as well. The house seems different now, unfriendly almost, after having been away for so long. He is dreading his family's reaction upon discovering his arrival; he's not really ready for the whole "happy reunion" bit. His mind is too preoccupied with other things right now, things of exceedingly dire importance.

_(L isn't the type of person to dismiss a case so easily. The L _I_ know would consider all possible angles, and certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility of a second notebook. He definitely wouldn't just walk away from all of this like he's doing…)_

"Oh my gosh!" comes a voice from behind, as Light begins his ascent up the stairs. "Oh my gosh!! Light, you're actually back!" Slender arms seize him from behind, and Sayu glomps her older brother fiercely "MOM, LIGHT'S HOME! MOOOM!" Her voice booms throughout the house, and Light has to bite back a grimace. He feels his anger regarding the detective mounting, and it takes all of his effort to maintain a neutral expression.

(_What am I saying?_ _It's obvious L is trying to mislead us so he can go back into hiding and contemplate his next move… L, you coward! What happened to approaching the enemy head-on? You've grown soft recently…)_

This all theoretical, of course; Light isn't sure _what_ L is up to. The detective is exceedingly clever, and Light can't help but feel that he's wandering into a trap, even if he's fairly certain he's figured it all out. Light knows he has to be extra careful in the meantime, in case L decides to start bugging his parents' house again on the sly. Light doesn't have Ryuk as a lookout anymore, and no Death Note to speak of; he is completely defenseless, and the very thought is unnerving.

_(Hopefully Misa still remembers his name, and then when she gets her hands on the notebook she can kill him off immediately. If she can manage that, then it really _will_ all be over, and I wont have to worry. Then, I can assume my mantle as the God of the new world...)_

"Hey, Sayu," Light says, trying to keep his voice even as his younger sister dances circles around him. "Did you miss me?"

"I'm so glad your back, Light!" she cries enthusiastically. "Without you doing my homework... I mean, without your help deciphering equations, my grades have really started to plummet! Mom's been really mad!"

Light gives her a wry grin. "So I assume you'll want me to tutor you again?"

(_Misa, hurry... I can't do this one without you... not when there's a chance I could be under surveillance... L could be simply waiting for me to slip up, to somehow reveal myself... you've got to kill him!)_

"'Tutor'. Right." She grins up at him impishly. "Would you really be willing to?"

"Sure." He grins right back at her. "For 5000 yen."

Sayu groans. "Liiiight!"

(_What if she doesn't remember his name? No, no, I mustn't think that... even if she doesn't, she will most definitely make the eye trade... and then once the killings start again, L will have no choice but to re-instate the investigation… Then I can lure him out of the headquarters, or have Misa come in under the pretense of wanting to see him again… the possibilities are endless…) _

He musses Sayu's hair affectionately, just as his mother comes into view at the top of stairs. Her hands clutch the front of her apron, and she sways on the spot; for a minute, Light thinks she might actually fall. "L-Light?"

_(In the meantime, I'll just have to be on my guard... L, what are you plotting now?)_

Light resists the urge to grit his teeth in frustration, and instead gives Sachiko his best rendition of a sheepish smile. "Hi, mom. I'm home."

--

L's gaze flicks to the wall-mounted clock just above the entrance behind Misa. "And it's time for us to get going. Our plane will be departing soon." He saunters over to where she's standing and addresses the kidnappers on either side of her. "Wedy-san, Aiber-san," he says, bowing his head slightly. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you, as always."

"Anytime, hon," Wedy says briskly, stepping forward. She clasps him by the shoulder as she leans nearer to him, and L smiles wanly up at her. "You know, I never expected you to be so cute in person."

"Ah, Wedy-san, you flatter me."

"Really, though." She taps him once on the nose, and L does not blink. "Next time you're in my neck of the woods, give me a ring. We'll have to get together, have a little dinner or something." The implication is clearly not lost on L, who gives her that same elusive half-simper Misa is so used to seeing.

"Thank you, Wedy-san. Perhaps… I'd like that."

Misa gapes at scene unraveling before her, momentarily forgetting the circumstances surrounding her being there. Did L really just get a date? With _this_ blonde bimbo?

"Until next time…" Wedy wags her fingers at them in a parody of a wave as she disappears out the door and into the hall beyond. Misa twists on the spot and watches as she goes, still shocked over what has just transpired between them. Beside her, Aiber chuckles.

"Where is she going?" Misa wonders aloud.

"Back home, I'd imagine," L answers her evenly. "Aiber-san, if you'd take Amane by the arm, please. We really ought to get going. There is no need for a blindfold this time, I think."

"Of course," Aiber says obediently, clasping his hand on Misa's upper arm. L moves to the door and holds it open for them.

"Now, Amane," he begins, as the sounds of other people's voices within the airport float into the room. "If you'll be so kind as to not make a scene while we walk through the terminal…"

"You actually expect me to go _along_ with this?" she demands.

"If you choose not to, I can assure you the alternative will be considerably less pleasant," L tells her easily, not even batting an eye at her exclamation. "Here are your options, Amane: I can either let Aiber-san escort you calmly and quietly across the airport, or I can render you unconscious and have Aiber-san _carry_ you to where we are scheduled to board. The choice is entirely up to you." Seeing her defiant expression, he adds, almost innocently, "shall I arrange for the hypodermic needle, then?"

"People are going to notice if you're hauling around a body, you know," Misa warns, flushing in anger.

"And people are certainly going to notice that I'm leading around a girl in handcuffs," L retorts reasonably. "So I fail to see your point here."

"And you don't think it's going to cause a stir, either way? Misa-Misa is a celebrity!" Misa stomps her foot, outraged. "She is well-known in Japan!"

As if sensing this is going to take a while, L sighs and closes the door. "So what if it does? No doubt people have seen you already; Wedy-san and Aiber-san escorted you through the main entrance in plain sight. Airport security has already been informed of your arrival; they've been explicitly instructed to not get involved, and have been given the appropriate sum of money to ensure this." Translation: airport personnel have been paid off in order to turn a blind eye to the whole situation. Misa is disgusted. "And I'm not really concerned with the general populace's opinion on the matter, to be perfectly frank. They can come to whatever conclusion they want."

"There is going to be a public outrage!" Misa screams at him. "_Someone_ out there is going to be suspicious! And then they'll call the police so fast your head will spin!"

"And say what?" L asks her mildly. "And, of course, assuming the police are able to arrive on the premises before our private jet takes off… what can they do? You forget, Amane, who I am, and what sort of influence I carry over the world's police agencies." He informs her reasonably, hands shoved deep into his pockets. "I could just as easily turn it around on you, you know, should the police bring it upon themselves to interfere. If I were to tell them that you are being apprehended on the suspicion of being the second Kira, what do you think they would do?"

"You don't even have any proof!" Misa tells him shrilly. Aiber adjusts his hold on her; she senses that both he and L are growing restless and impatient. She does not care. "They're not just going to let you take me—"

"Oh, but they _will_," L says confidently. "Don't you get it, Amane? It doesn't matter what you or anyone else might possibly say, because I am L. And L is the _law_, no matter what jurisdiction he is currently operating under."

Misa bursts into violent, angry sobs as the hopelessness of the situation gets to her. L is right; there is nothing anyone can do to save her. "I hate you," she says miserably. L's expression almost softens.

"That's a shame," he murmurs. "Because if I'm permitted to be perfectly honest here, I'm actually quite fond of you." Misa blinks at him in tear-streaked confusion as he opens the door for her and Aiber a second time.


	9. the jetset life is gonna kill you

**A/N: **there isn't much to say this time around. more of the same ol', same ol'. this chapter took forever, blahblahblah, etc. i'm trying to squeeze in as much as i can before i have before school resumes next week. D:

thank you to everyone who has sent me encouraging reviews so far! extra special thanks to those of you who pointed out errors in the last chapter. i think i've fixed most of them x3

as always, enjoy!

--

and if you court this disaster,

i'll point you home

- Barenaked Ladies

**ii.**

"I'm so glad you've decided to move back in with us, Light," Sachiko is telling Light, as she leads him upstairs towards his room (as if he wasn't aware of its whereabouts already. Things haven't changed _that _much since he's been gone.) "We've missed you so much, you know."

"It's good to be home," he agrees, mustering up his most earnest expression. Sachiko smiles at him, pats his arm affectionately (she soaks this kind of thing right up), and leaves him to his own devices. As soon as the door quietly shuts behind him Light whips out the cell phone Misa gave him, and immediately dials her number.

_What the hell is taking her so long?_ the brunette teenager thinks irritably, speaker shoved up against his ear. _You'd think she would call me if she got lost..._

The call goes straight to voice mail. "Hi there!" comes the bubbly, exuberant voice that is notorious for getting underneath Light's skin. "Misa-Misa isn't in right now, but if you leave your name and number after the beep Misa promises she'll--" Light slams the phone shut with such ferocity that he's half-surprised he doesn't break it. Then he pitches it on the bed, and begins pacing in circles around the room.

_Damn it! _he thinks, resisting the urge to pull his own hair in frustration. _Where the hell could she be?!_

_--_

When Misa opens her eyes, there is a brief moment of absolute confusion. She can hear the faint thrumming of an engine beneath her feet, and finds herself staring ahead at the back of what appears to be an expensive, cream colored leather-chair bolted to the floor. Her ears feel like they are stuffed with cotton, and she is aware of the vague sensation that she seems to be _moving_.

Then her head lulls to the left and sees the familiar, hunched form of L and his companion, Misa's kidnapper; a man who goes by the name of Aiber. Across from the aisle she sees Watari, L's servant, who is presently reading a book. Then everything comes back in an unpleasant lurch. Misa bolts upright.

"Ah, so you're awake," L says, completely unperturbed by her violent display. Beside him, Aiber flashes Misa a smile, exposing two rows of straight, white teeth. It is too sardonic to be genial.

"How long has Misa been out?" she demands.

"Quite a few hours," L says evasively. "You have excellent timing, however; we will be landing soon." Then he turns his head so that he's facing Aiber, and picks up apparently where he had previously left off: "Il sera agréable d'être en France de nouveau, vous ne pensez pas?"

_Is he speaking_ French_? _Misa thinks, faintly surprised. "Did you drug me?" she says accusingly, glaring at the other two. L smiles strangely at her, in a which that doesn't exactly confirm or deny her suspicions. He could be mocking her, or he could be trying to be facetious. She can't read his expression well enough to be certain.

"Comment longtemps avez-vous été allé?" Aiber asks in return, pointedly ignoring her. L returns his focus to the conversation at hand.

"Peut-être une année, peut-être plus longue."

There is a musical chime overhead, and the pilot comes on over the speakers. "Please fasten your seatbelts, everyone," he says, his voice like liquid honey. "We shall be descending shortly. Local time at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is currently one PM."

"Misa-Misa is in _Paris_?" Misa asks, recoiling back into her chair in shock.

"This one's very bright, isn't she?" Aiber says good-naturedly, with lifted eyebrows.

"Hey! Don't make fun of Misa!" Misa exclaims in outrage.

"Amane, if you'll please settle down while the plane lands," L instructs mildly, just as the aircraft begins its gentle descent.

--

Light snaps the phone shut for what seems like the twentieth time. _Damn, still no answer! _He walks over to his bed and sits down, putting his hands on either knee as he glares down at the floor hatefully. His blood is beginning to boil beneath the skin, and he feels the first vestiges of a nasty migraine throbbing within the confines of his skull. _Relax... I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this._

"Rem," he hisses through gritted teeth, and there is a beat in which nothing happens. Then the shinigami comes ambling through the wall as though it were simply made of air, instead of being a concrete-and-wood, tangible barrier.

"I know I've insisted that you lay low for a while," Light does not even bother to glance up at her as he speaks. "In order to avoid the others' suspicions. However, I have thoroughly checked my room for bugs and surveillance cameras tonight, and I haven't turned up anything. As long as I keep my voice down - " his gaze flicks toward his door, checking to make sure the lock has been turned, "- and dad doesn't come barging in, it should be okay for us to maintain contact like this."

"What is it that you want, Light Yagami?" the death god asks wearily.

"I need you to find out what the hell happened to Misa," Light says, and inclines his head at last. Their gazes lock, catlike-yellow and blazing hazel, and Light's expression hardens. "Although I've got a pretty good idea already." His grimace deepens. "Check all the bus stations in the surrounding area, the spot where we buried Ryuk's notebook, and then her apartment. If you don't find her in any of those places, then..."

"Light Yagami, you remember what I told you would happen should Misa be harmed..."

"Shut up!" Light snarls suddenly, leaping to his feet. "I'm trying to think, okay?!" He resumes his pacing about the room. Rem watches him stalk about with an unfathomable expression. "If Misa doesn't turn up in any of those locations, I want you to head to Task Force Headquarters... see if Ryuuzaki is still lurking there..."

"And if he isn't?" she inquires blandly.

"We'll worry about things as we come to them," Light says curtly, glaring over his shoulder back at her. "Now, you have your instructions. _Go_."

For a moment it appears as though Rem might refuse, and then suddenly she evaporates sideways through the wall that she originally came through. This time Light really does seize a handful of his hair and _pulls_. His scalp stings underneath the assault of his aggressive fingertips, and Light has to bite back a scream that wants so desperately to rip free from his throat. Then he squeezes his eyes shut, counts to ten, and goes over to the bed and sits down again, feet planted firmly on the ground.

_Well, L, if my hunch is right, it seems as though you've made your move... _Light thinks, breathing heavily. _Now it's up to me to make mine._

_--_

"You know, Misa-Misa is _really_ getting tired of being blindfolded all the time."

"A necessary precaution, I'm afraid," comes L's voice, off to the right.

"Why? Misa already _knows_ we're in France," she reminds him.

"Ah, but you see, she can't pinpoint our location exactly."

"Paris," she tries, and Aiber laughs, a deep barking guffaw that irritates her to no end. She can almost hear L's smile.

"Not anymore." Misa proceeds to twist uncomfortably in her seat. Her arms are beginning to ache from being handcuffed behind her for more than twelve consecutive hours.

"Do they hurt you?" L asks gently, as though sensing her distress; she feels his spidery fingers gently brush against her cheek. Misa gnashes her teeth at him, fully intending to bite them off should they draw too close. Slowly he retracts them.

"You know, I liked it a little better when you at least pretended to enjoy my touch."

"You're a freak, Ryuuzaki," she tells him hatefully. "If you think you still have a chance after you've gone and wrongfully accused Misa of being the second Kira, again, and intend to lock her away from the world, _again_, and keep her tied up and separated from her precious Light, **AGAIN**, you've got another. thing. coming." And she spits at him - or at least, what she hopes is him. Aiber laughs again, uproariously.

"She has terrible aim. Lucky for you, eh?"

"I can't wait until this car ride is over, and then I can lock her up in an underground cellar and be done with her."

_You wouldn't...! _Misa thinks in a mixture of fright and outrage.

"Hopefully it's a _wine_ cellar. I wouldn't say no to a drink right about now, to be perfectly honest..."

"I think you'll be happy with the selection I have," L says amicably. "I'm not much of a drinker myself, but Watari has some exquisite tastes... or so I'm told... oh, it looks as though we have arrived." Misa hears the crunch of gravel beneath their tires as the vehicle eases to a halt. The engine is shut off, and suddenly the door to the limo is opened and a gentle breeze plays across her face.

"Shall I have send one of the servants to the market, Ryuuzaki? Prepare for tonight's dinner?" Watari asks from beyond the threshold, and Misa feels Aiber's large hands on her, forcing her head down as he pulls her through the car door.

"Certainly," L says, and as the footsteps begin to retreat, Aiber begins to urge her forward up what appears to be a long, winding drive. "You can remove Amane's blindfold now," the detective instructs, once they have apparently reached the crest of the hill.

The handkerchief comes free, and Misa's sight is returned to her. As she absorbs the entirety of her new surroundings in long, searching glances, she makes an involuntary little half-gasp. The estate is positively enormous, and so beautiful it literally steals her breath away. "Wh-where... _are _we?" she asks in awe, clearly impressed in spite of herself.

"Welcome," L smiles at her, apparently pleased by her reaction, "to Château de Lawliet."

--

**A/N (cont):** For those of you who are curious as to what the hell Aiber and L were talking about in (my horrible rendition of) French, here is what it roughly translates to:

L - "Il sera agréable d'être en France de nouveau, vous ne pensez pas?" "It will be nice to return to France again, don't you agree?"  
Aiber - "Comment longtemps avez-vous été allé ?" "How long have you been away?"

L - "Peut-être une année, peut-être plus longue." "Perhaps a year, maybe longer."


	10. you wanna be my star, clutter up my sky?

**A/N:** yes, i am fully aware as to how incredibly _wordy_ this chapter is. Light just seems to blather on and on and _on_... i'm so very sorry for what i'm about to put you through, but i had to be fairly specific in order to prevent any major plotholes. i think ive covered most of them now xD also, if i didn't start fleshing out the chapters a little more _Dynamism_ would seriously go on for like 3984739479343+1 chapters. but then again, maybe i'm NOT sorry, because Light simply wouldn't be Light-mother-fucking-Yagami if he didn't bore readers with lengthy explanations and sinister monologues. and so it goes: Light divulges his Plan. with a capital P, because it's the Plan to end all other plans. oh, ho.

so now, enjoy the LONGEST chapter in _Dynamism_ HISTORY. aaargh!

(you can tell i'm tired, can't you?)

plz report any glaring errors cuz im sure theyre there somewhere kthxbai.

--

you think we're here to play

a game of who loves more than whom

- Barenaked Ladies

**iii.**

"Light Yagami."

Light is startled out of an unsatisfying sleep by the sound of his own name, spoken in a melancholy, almost monotonous timbre. He jerks upright to see the ominous form of Rem looming over him, eyes glowing a sinister amber as she regards him in a decidedly leery way. Light's gaze flicks over to his digital alarm clock, the green digits casting a faintly green, sickly glow across his skin. It is just after one AM.

"What is it, Rem?" he asks, by now fully awake. He knows that the shinigami does not come to bear good news, but he steels himself for it anyway.

"I have thoroughly looked in every place that you have instructed, only to turn up nothing." She states the next part in a cold fury, as though this is all somehow _Light's_ fault: "Misa is gone."

Light is calm, despite currently being the focus of a very malevolent and vindictive death-god. "I thought that might be the case." _Misa may be an idiot, but she's fairly reliable. Obviously something has happened that is beyond her control. _He stands up and quietly makes his way to his desk, where his computer is currently idling. He jiggles the mouse and slowly the screen comes back to life. "Rem, will you have a look at this?" He pulls up Firefox and scrolls through his bookmarks, clicking on the one for Misa's online portfolio. He steps back as JPEGs of Misa adorned in garish Lolita garb are emblazoned across the screen.

The shinigami stares at the screen with a cryptic expression for a long time. Then, upon apparently discovering just where Light is going with all of this, she reveals slowly, "I can still see her lifespan."

"And I take it that when you checked the Task Force Headquarters, you found that it had been deserted?"

The shinigami bows her head slightly, in what Light assumes is some kind of parody of a nod. "It appears so."

Light is still staring at the screen in front of him, fixing Misa with a contemplative gaze. "Okay, I've deduced this much from the information you've just given me." He pauses, head cocked to one side as he chooses his next words with care. "Clearly, Misa has been apprehended on her way to retrieve the second notebook. Obviously L somehow suspected that there was foul play aloof, and sent one of his cronies out to retrieve her." His index finger settles on his lower lip as he studies the pictures in front him, a pensive pose that is unconsciously similar to L's own. "She was taken into custody before she had dug up the second notebook, which is very fortunate in this case, because I have no doubt that her person has been very thoroughly examined, and all her personal belongings confiscated. If the notebook had currently been with her at the time of her being apprehended, others would have touched it and then Ryuk would become visible. That alone would eliminate all speculation in L's mind as to whether Misa was operating as the Second Kira or not, and it's likely that she would have been executed already."

"Or they could be simply waiting to be execute her," Rem offers grimly.

Light considers this, and then shakes his head. "I think it's unlikely," he says at last with a shake of his elegant head, but does not further elaborate on his reasoning behind this. "Regardless, we will have to dig up the remaining notebook eventually to discover if I am right or not. For now, however, it's too dangerous." Rem does not seem happy about this at all, and her voice is laced with venom when she speaks.

"Light..." she says haltingly, threateningly.

"Look, if Misa is under suspicion and has been apprehended as a result, then _I'm_ most certainly under suspicion as well. It's probably only a matter of time before I'm taken into custody too; and don't you think if they seize the notebook from me it will only jeopardize Misa's current situation even more?"  
"Very well..." the shinigami says reluctantly, after observing Light's sudden outburst.

"Either way," Light says, adopting a more reassuring tone, because _really_, his life could potentially be at stake here, at the hands of an overbearing, love struck shinigami. _Damn her! Damn both of them! Really, Misa, half the time you're more of a hindrance than a help... _"Misa is alive. And I fully intend to keep her that way."

"Good," the shinigami says warningly. "Because if you don't..."

Light tunes her out. He already _knows_. "So anyway, I think it's safe to assume that L announcing to the rest of the Taskforce Members and myself that the Kira case was considered closed was just an excuse so that he could fade back into obscurity." He closes his eyes briefly, has to fight back the rising tide of loathing, like bile, within him. _Damn! I knew he would try and pull a stunt like this... _"Either something tipped him off or he's simply got good instincts... regardless, it doesn't matter... L obviously got a whiff of trouble; to further safeguard himself against a potential backlash now that Higuichi's out of the way, he seized Misa and has either tied her up like before, or has thrown her in a cell, or maybe both; at the very least, he's keeping her in close quarters so that he may keep an eye on her."

Light nods faintly to himself, becoming more confident that his hypothesis regarding the matter is right the longer he speaks. "L thinks Misa is the second Kira, the one with the ability to kill with only a face. So since he's already revealed that much to her, he has to _personally_ make sure she doesn't get her hands on a murder notebook, because obviously his personal health is at grave risk here. Yes... it all fits." He nods sagely, a mixture of dissatisfaction and satisfaction co-existing on the planes of his face: dissatisfied because he's been temporarily out-maneuvered yet again, and satisfied because he has been clever enough to piece it all together, like the parts of an elaborately and well-devised puzzle.

"Also... the fact that L so willingly left the notebook behind with the Japanese Police... well, it's not typically _L_, who is a cautious and mistrustful person by nature... therefore, his cooperation on the matter is very worrying to me now," Light continues to rationalize, now pacing about the room again like he had been doing earlier in the evening. "He also seemed highly reluctant to accept that all of the rules of the notebook were completely true."

_And that is completely _your_ fault_, Light thinks accusingly, casting a quick, dark glance over his shoulder at where Rem is standing stoically behind him. _You should have been more firm in your answers, instead of being so obnoxiously elusive; you gave him reason to doubt the integrity of the notebook. _

"... Particularly the last two. Seemed to think that the thirteen day rule was a little too 'convenient'; too neat in terms of clearing my innocence." Light halts in his tracks and laughs humorlessly. _Damn, I've got to give him credit though, he really has thought of everything... _"Because he didn't want to cause an outrage, or raise suspicion amongst us, he decided to take a chance and rip out a page of the notebook before it went into the vault; then, he took it with him to wherever he's gone off to now..."

_He knows that the vault needs a personalized pin code from each of us in order to be opened... therefore, leaving the notebook behind is not that huge of a risk; not when it's so clearly out of my reach... and since he obviously hasn't died upon defacing part of the notebook, he's probably even more convinced that some of the rules have been falsified... Or maybe he thinks defacing the notebook is not the same as destroying it; therefore, he's safe... Regardless of what he may think, it's logical that his next course of action will be to..._

--

L pronounces the name of the vast estate as 'Low-light'. Misa, being Japanese, butchers this name horribly, which Aiber (of course) finds unspeakably hilarious. Misa does not find Aiber's reaction amusing or surprising in the least, since Aiber is an insufferable jerk and_ man oh man does _Misa ever _hate_ him with an all-consuming, feverish passion. (He will be the first person whose name she writes down in the notebook, just after L himself.)

L, on the other hand, seems almost endeared by her terrible pronunciation, and simply smiles at her in an enigmatic way when she fucks it up.

_--_

"So, with everything that's happened so far, I suppose it wouldn't be a stretch to think that he's going to test the 13 day rule now. And once he does... well, if he doesn't have me in custody by then, I certainly _will_ be brought in after the thirteen days are up... and then the both of us will remain there, forever..." He shudders as the thought; it is highly unpleasant to think of. He can't let it come to that: not when he's so close... so impossibly, delectably close to obtaining Godhood.

"...That is, unless we find another Kira to assume my mantle in the meantime. The new Kira will obviously have to share the same sense of justice that I do, but has to be cunning enough to avoid suspicion in order to further elude the Law. They also have to be obscure enough that L won't make the connection between us. That way, when the murders suddenly_ continue_, and are consistent with the guidelines I've set for criminals so far... well, then Misa and I should be safe. L will have no reason to suspect us further."

_It's important that the next Kira does not stray from the path of righteous judgment... That was Higuichi's downfall - he started killing in a pattern that was noticeably different; he was targeting members of rival businesses. But that suited my purposes at the time... it was what I _wanted_... this time, however, it _has _to be different, in order to ensure my freedom later down the line.._

"L will always suspect you," Rem says unexpectedly.

Light frowns, but then shrugs. "You're probably right, but it doesn't matter. L can't possibly keep an eye on us forever. Since he _knows _how the killings are conducted now, he will be looking for tangible evidence... but he'll never find it, at least not with Misa or I. Eventually our names will be cleared; they _have_ to be. Obviously the next Kira will have to make the trade with Ryuk for the Shinigami eyes as well, so that it coincides with Misa's ability and takes the focus off of her.

"We will have to find a rampant Kira worshipper... someone who reveres him, with similar ideals and a similar wavelength. This time we can keep up the charade as long as what's necessary; with someone who bears a similar profile in terms of mentality - the striking similarity will be bound to confuse L. Eventually he'll come to the conclusion that he's wrong about suspecting me personally, and Misa as well. Once I have selected an ideal candidate, I will send him explicit, detailed instructions on how about to go about these killings, along with a sufficient supply of notebook pages. When those eventually run out, Ryuk will dig up the notebook and bring him more, then bury it again until the next time... and on and on, an endless cycle, as long as I need to, in order to clear my name."

He actually has a reason to smile again, and so he does. Really, his brilliance knows no bounds. "Meanwhile, the fact that Misa is presumably in such close proximity to L can actually work in our favor. You can bet she's trying to find a way to get in touch with me; and when she does, she's clever enough not to reveal any information regarding Kira... but she's bound to tell me where she is, under the pretense that L has wrongfully accused and kidnapped her. And if she can't reveal that information, or if she doesn't _know_, we can figure out some way to trace the location of her whereabouts with the call. Shouldn't be hard to get ahold of the technology; my dad _is_ the deputy chief of the police after all." He lifts his eyebrows quizzically. "Because I'm assuming you don't simply know where she went, right, Rem? You can't go out and search for her, can you?"

"No, I can't," the shinigami says regretfully. "Since you are the current owner of the Death Note, I cannot stray very far... at least not more than a few miles or so..."

"Right, I figured," Light nods, but this revelation does not seem to cause his excitement to dwindle in the slightest. "Well, if we haven't already cleared our names by the time Misa gets in touch... once we figure out her whereabouts, I'll temporarily relinquish ownership of the Death Note you're attached to, the one that is currently hidden in a vault under Taskforce HQ. Then you can go to where Misa is, and either kill L yourself or bring a piece of the notebook so that Misa can personally have the honor." He smiles happily at the thought. "Yes... she has been very considerate of my needs so far... seducing L was very clever... perhaps I should reward her with giving her the means to _personally_ destroy him. She might like that." The far-away, dreamy-quality to his smile eventually fades, and he shakes his head, as though coming out from a trance. "Right. Then we'll have the new Kira relinquish his hold over the book we have buried, and that one can go back to me."

"And if he won't?" Rem inquires.

"He _will_," Light tells her confidently. "The candidate I plan to choose will have been screened thoroughly... he will handpicked for the job based on his devotion to Kira. And if, for whatever reason, he decides he doesn't want to... well, then we'll kill him if we must." Light's smile turns slightly maniacal. "Naturally, since he will handpicked, I will know his identity... but I will be careful to remain in the shadows, not unlike what L is doing now, so that he does not know mine." Light feels as though a considerable weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. And although his plan is something of a rehash of the earlier one featuring Higuichi, it has been considerably refined and fine-tuned so that it better suits his purposes. It will be a flawless victory, he knows, in the end; the rest leading up to that apex are just details.

"So," he concludes, over to his bed and sprawling out on the comforters. He feels sleepy with triumph, relaxed and drowsy and comfortable. "Obviously I'm going to need you to roam some more... it's not safe with you here under the current conditions... should my dad come in my room, or one of the other Task Force members drop by. You need to lay low for now; I'll summon _you_ when I need you next."

"And when will that be?"

"Probably..." His words are stifled by a yawn; he is very close to slumber now. "...When I find my next Kira..."

And he drifts off into a place where only good dreams await him.

--

Surprisingly, Misa's hands are removed from their handcuffs upon admittance inside. Her wrists are raw and chaffed from being forcibly held behind for several hours on end, but none of her captors seem to be remotely sympathetic in the slightest. _Bastards_.

Château de Lawliet is a huge, sprawling manor. There are open ceilings, numerous skylights that seemingly open straight up into the heavens, elegant archways and _pillars _-_ pillars, _for God's sake! _- _made of the palest of marble; intricately carved staircases, an enormous entrance-way, and hallways that curve around bends before disappearing entirely. Meanwhile, everywhere Misa turns there is another door, although leading where, she has no idea. The place is simply massive, in every sense of the word.

The sitting area is almost gaudy, with its overly elaborate furnishings - overflowing with purple velvet and complicated, thick threading; adorned with tassels and buttons and strange curves. They also look exceedingly uncomfortable to sit upon, but as Aiber steers her backwards into one, she is alarmed to find that they are not. After she is seated L perches upon one himself, directly across from her. He looks more outrageously out-of-place than ever, and in his own _home_, no less.

Watari comes over later with a trolley - yes, an actual trolley - adorned with several, expensive-looking bottles of wine and a platter of strawberry cheesecake for L. L takes a piece of the cheesecake and Watari offers the detective's accomplice - and Misa's kidnapper - a glass, which the man generously accepts. The old man does not offer anything to Misa. He leaves the trolley behind for the snacking detective to feast upon as he walks away.

Aiber seems much more natural amongst all this overbearing refinery than L does himself - seems to bask in it compliment it, almost, with his silk black shirt and expensive tailored slacks. He swirls the wine Watari has poured for him in his glass contentedly, and grins in a manner that is uncomfortably shark-like to Misa.

Abruptly the two men lapse into conversation as Misa glances around, taking her surroundings more fully. Misa had thought that L might be wealthy, but really she had no idea. _How on earth can one man be so rich?_

It is dizzying to think how much he has paid for this estate; even more nauseating to consider how much he must have spent on furnishings alone. She didn't even want to think about maintenance. _Electricity... electricity must cost a fortune_. Nobody needs this much money. _How on earth can one man be so _rich_? _The way it was so lavishly displayed - so foolishly thrown around - so obviously squandered on wasteful, unnecessary luxuries - why, it was simply ridiculous. Didn't L mostly live out of hotel rooms, anyway? Why in Kira's name did he need to spend so much on a place he hardly ever got the time to enjoy? _How on earth... _She thinks again, but her train of thought is abruptly cut off by the sound of her own name being voiced.

(Not Misa. Never Misa. It's always 'Amane' now.)

She blinks and turns around at the familiar utterance, but neither of her kidnappers are looking at her. Maddeningly, they are also exchanging verbal interaction in a language she doesn't fully understand - English.

"Hey," Misa says, waving her hands around in an attempt to re-gain their focus. "Hey._ Hey_."

L simply lifts one of those elusive, pencil-thin eyebrows at her. They are nearly lost beneath the uneven fringe of his bangs.

"How many languages do you speak, anyway?" Misa inquires, honestly curious.

"Other than Japanese, you mean?" he asks, blinking at her owlishly. She nods, and he abruptly answers with: "I can speak many languages, however the number of those which I feel I can speak fluently in, other than Japanese, is six."

"Six?" This impresses Misa. "And what are they?"

"Arabic, Mandarin, English, French, Russian, and Spanish," he rattles off immediately.

Misa doesn't understand the significance of knowing these languages in particular. The connection is not lost on Aiber, however, who laughs obnoxiously. "Ah," he says, beaming at L with a look on his face akin to admiration. "Very clever."

"What's clever?" Misa demands irritably. She does not enjoy being left out of the loop.

L smiles in that maddeningly evasive manner again. Aiber, apparently taking pity on her for once, brings it upon himself to answer. "It's the six official languages of the UN." Clearly impressed as well, he adds, "I can see how that might come in handy for you."

"Yes," L agrees. "It can be useful at times."

"Hey," Misa says again. Her legs are crossed, and she waves one foot back and forth with an irritated swish. "So since you've decided to imprison Misa or whatever, Misa wants to know what happened to her Phone Call."

"Imprisonment?" Aiber chortles. "For being confined, you're getting off pretty damned easy. Talk about living it up."

Misa ignores him, her retinas burning into L's instead. "Well?" she asks impatiently.

"You don't get a Phone Call," L says softly. A fresh wave of loathing overcomes Misa.

"And why _not_?" she snarls indignantly, rising out of her chair.

"You might want to sit down, mon cherie," Aiber advises her wisely, with a barely concealed threat. "You might not like what happens if you don't."

"Fuck you," she says hatefully, whirling on him in a fury. "Misa has been forcibly taken against her will and under false pretenses! She will not stand for this perversion of justice any longer!" Her voice echoes shrilly throughout the chambers.

"Perversion of justice?" Aiber laughs again as he moves to stand, apparently intending to forcibly subdue her if necessary. "That's a good one. You're getting in over your head, little girl." Misa's fists clench at her sides - she's getting ready to take a swing at his head when suddenly L bounds to his feet.

"Dinner is ready, I think," he says, as the two twist around to look at him in surprise. He sets off shuffling down the hall, presumably towards where the kitchen is, and Misa and Aiber exchange befuddled glances. Then they regain their respective bearings; Aiber moves forward to seize her, and Misa slaps his hand away. "Misa can walk herself, _thanks_," she spits venomously at him. "She does not have to be led around on a leash like a _dog_." And she stomps off after L.

--

"Perhaps you should exchange your heartfelt goodbyes now," L advises with a touch of amusement. He's currently working on a third helping of dessert. "Aiber will be going home tomorrow."

Misa purposely ignores him. She's already working out the kinks in her next plan. _Obviously L is going to be keeping me on a tight leash here... like I really _am_ a dog. Still, I can use this to my advantage: I have penetrated the heart of my enemy's fortress. This is a good thing. I can help Light this way. But in order to help Light, I'm going to have to be able to make contact with him somehow, like by phone or something at the very least. And the only way I'm going to be able to earn any privileges like _that_ - or at least, find a way to sneak away for a while without raising any kind of alarm - is to gain L's trust._

"Are you going to eat your dessert?" L asks, indicating her chocolate cake with a jab of his own fork. _Or..._

Misa looks up, startled free from her reverie. "Hm?" she asks.

"The cake," he says gently. "Do you want it?" _I'm going to seduce you, _she decides suddenly, and then L's words finally register in her brain.

"Oh!" Misa picks up the plate and offers it to him. "No. You can have it." He gives her a grateful half-simper, settling it down in front of him with something that borders on reverence. She watches him with a critical eye as he lances a piece with his fork and pops it into his mouth. He spends a lot of time chewing, she thinks.

L takes another bite, his jaw working thoughtfully and deliberately. There is a smear of chocolate frosting on his face, and seizing this as a perfect opportunity, Misa reaches across the table to wipe it away. Her fingers trace the edges of his lips almost lovingly, an obviously tender gesture. Her thumb lingers at the corner of his lips far longer than what is strictly necessary, and L stills, a look of genuine surprise etched across his alabaster features. And then Misa slowly retracts her hand, bringing it alongside her other one to fold neatly in her lap.

_Let's see how far the rabbit hole goes, L, _Misa thinks sardonically. L has yet to recover from this unexpected turn of events, apparently stunned. Then he tilts his head slightly to one side as he regards her with a kind of newfound curiosity. Aiber's gaze flicks between the two, as though puzzled by what has just occurred.

_Oh what a tangled web we weave, _Misa thinks, recalling the famous words of Sir Walter Scott as she simpers innocently back at him. _ When first we practice to deceive!_

--

**A/N (cont.):** i think that's a nice little note to leave it on for now, don't you? And on second though, I suppose it's not too long… :checks: only… 6 pages xD oh god I'm so sorry if it sucks. I really tried to make it good but elaborate plotlines that require excessive explanation aren't my Forté; they only succeed in making my head hurt. ;-;


	11. and the lies i weave are oh so intricate

**A/N: **hahaha i love Light. what a cocky little bastard. and Misa thinks she's just so darn clever, and yet she's so painfully transparent. although L seems very receptive to her charms thus far... lucky for her, otherwise she'd be really screwed. anyway, i hope you all enjoy!

OH HAYYYYY SAKURA! yeah you xD i've got to admit: you've piqued my interest. just what are you wanting to contact me about, hmmm? i'm so terrible at waiting! i want to know now. sooooo what's up?? xD

--

i think it's getting to the point where i can be myself again,

i think it's getting to the point where we can almost make amends

- Barenaked Ladies

**iv.**

For the rest of the evening Misa is downright pleasant to be around. Aiber eyes her suspiciously, but Misa really doesn't care what _he_ thinks regarding the matter. Fortunately, L seems to appreciate this unexpected change in cooperation, and now graces her frequently with those weird, creepy smiles of his. Watari, like Aiber, seems especially mistrustful of this drastic change in demeanor; when he shows Misa to her quarters later that night, he very blandly informs her of the room's strict surveillance. He also goes on to remind her that Chateau de Lawliet practically exists in the middle of the wilderness, and that any potential bid for freedom would be a fruitless endeavor, as they would most certainly capture her before she could make it back to civilization. Misa resists the urge to slap the pompous old man as he tells her all this and instead she just _smiles_.

The bed is just as lavish and as garish as the rest of the house, but the sheets are made of expensive silk and are lovely and smooth beneath her fingertips. Upon crawling into bed Misa falls asleep almost immediately. And, like her beloved so many miles away, Misa dreams good dreams.

--

There is a sharp rapping on Light's door the next afternoon.

"What is it?" he asks, quickly exiting out of the window he has been scrolling through on his computer monitor. He hears his sister's muffled voice answer him on the other side of the door.

"It's me, Sayu."

"I know who it is," he answers coolly, pushing away from his desk so that the computer chair swings in a wide arc. When it comes to a halt he's facing the door, arms folded across his chest as he regards it wearily. He lifts one perfect eyebrow curiously, and inquires in a superbly disdainful voice: "What do you want?"

"C'mon, just let me in," she whines, and there is a faint rattling sound as she jiggles the handle with no avail. "Why is your door locked anyway? You aren't looking at dirty magazines or something in there, are you?"

Light heaves a sigh, yanks himself out of the chair and crosses the room in two lengthy strides. He flips the latch and steps back as he watches it swing open. "Come on, Sayu, you're being a nuisance. What do you need?"  
"Is it a crime for me to want to spend some time with my big brother after he's been away for so long?" she asks innocently, fluttering her eyelashes up at him. She's grown since his time in captivity, he realizes - the top of her head is now level with his shoulders. Light looks down upon her in disbelief.

"Mom sent you up here to check on me, didn't she?"

Sayu does her best to appear highly affronted by the statement, and fails miserably. Then, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, Sayu adds, "She thinks you're up here _sulking_."

"Why?"

"Because it's the last day of fall term," Sayu reveals immediately, unable to help herself. "And you'd be taking your exams right now if you didn't... you know..." she drifts off suddenly, apparently unable to continue. _Drop out_, Light mentally fills in for her.

Light shrugs in a show of indifference. "What's done is done," he says, and abruptly turns his back on her. "It doesn't really bother me, as I fully intend to return to To-Oh for spring semester."

"Oh, _really_?" Sayu asks, her voice lifting in exaggerated curiosity. Light knows that this is her _real _purpose in bothering him; she's doing it in order to exact certain information to report to Mom later. She is his mother's spy, and not a particularly good one at that. Still, Light doesn't mind; although school is not exactly a top priority in his mind right now, going back is necessary to keep up the facade. He has to pick up exactly where he left off, and re-establish himself as Light Yagami, the perfectly innocent university student. If there was any change in demeanor on Light's behalf after everything that has transpired thus far, L would undoubtedly catch wind of it, and his suspicion of him would only increase. (If that was even possible, at this point.) "That's good to know... since the deadline for Spring Semester is next week..."

"As I'm already aware," he tells her in that same unruffled tone. "Since I plan to go to the registration office tomorrow."

"That's good," Sayu says. "Because it would be so unfortunate to let all that precious brainjuice go to waste... although _I_ wouldn't really mind, because then you'd have even _more_ time to help me with schoolwork."

"Maybe we could strike up a deal," he says, business-like. "Let's say... 5,000 yen per hour of tutelage... if you're _really _doing as poorly as Mom and Dad say, I wouldn't even need to go back to school. I could move out and everything with money like that! I'd be set for life."

She punches him in the arm. "I'm not doing _that_ bad, Light," she huffs, going red in the face. "And I won't be in school forever, you know!"

"At _this_ rate you will," he tells her amusedly. "Continuation school, anyway." Sayu's mouth begins working but no real sound is coming out, just halting, half-stuttering nonsense, too flustered to even make a coherent defense. Light grabs his coat from the closet and slips it on, still smirking as he strides past her and out into the hall.

"And where do you think _you're_ going?" Sayu demands hotly, stomping after him down the stairs.

"To Misa's place," Light answers matter-of-factly, not even bothering to look back at her as he opens the front door. "She hasn't been answering her phone calls for a while now. I'm starting to get worried."

"I don't think you're allowed to date that hussy anymore!" Sayu shouts as she explodes onto the porch behind him. "Mom thinks she's responsible for you leaving, you know!"

Light doesn't answer - it isn't necessary. He simply smiles to himself and keeps walking.

--

The next day Aiber takes his leave of the place. Misa is not sorry in the least to see him go.

Then Watari himself leaves to run some errands around mid-day, and Misa is left alone in L's company. The detective is surprisingly at ease with her here, even without his right-hand man around to constantly keep a mindful watch on her. He doesn't threaten her, or remind her of the heavy security within this palace-turned-fortress. He simply insists that she remain in close proximity to him, makes her sit with him while he drinks tea and reviews files on his computer. A butler comes around every so often and asks if they need anything. L usually makes a request for the kitchen, and Misa occasionally asks for a glass of water. Mostly she is content to simply watch him work, and occasionally indulge in small-talk on the side. _Baby steps_, she thinks.

She starts referring to him as 'Ryuuzaki' again. L does not seem to mind in the slightest, and the staff does not even bat an eye at her when she addresses him as such. She wonders how much L has revealed about his profession to them - whether they know that he's the world-famous detective or not. She can't say for sure, but it's not the foremost concern in her mind right now anyway.

Later on he gives her the grand tour. Misa follows him around like an obedient puppy, listening to him blather on about the architecture and then later on, about the various rare, exotic flowers in the garden. Blah, blah, blah. She's not sure if he's trying to impress her or not, or if this is supposed to be some kind of test. You never can tell with L.

"Ryuuzaki," she says finally, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. The slouching detective halts in mid-sentence, fixing her with that familiar, faintly unnerving, wide-eyed stare. "Misa has a question for you. What do you do for _fun_ around here?"

"Fun...?" he echoes distantly.

"Yes, fun," she says, a little more firmly. "When you're not busy with cases or whatever."

"Misa -" (ah, so she's Misa again? Excellent) "- you could say that detective work _is_ what I do for fun, since I only take cases that personally interest me. If we think of it that way, I suppose you could consider it... a hobby, of sorts."

She wrinkles her nose at him in disgust. "But it looks so _boring_."

"I find it engaging. I enjoy things that challenge me."

"Like the Kira case?" she asks him innocently.

"Like the Kira case," he affirms with a nod, and they continue walking. They lapse into silence, and Misa is simply content to wander around behind him. Then, unexpectedly, L asks:

"Can I ask you a question now, Misa?"

Her eyebrows lift in curiosity. "Sure, Ryuuzaki."

"...Why the sudden change in heart?"

She bites her lip and smiles at him. She has been waiting for him to ask her this for quite some time, and already has her response ready as a result. Still, she has to make it all look natural. "Well, Misa will admit, she was pretty mad with you at first. But... the more Misa thinks about it, the more she sees Ryuuzaki's point. And, well, being angry isn't going to make the time go any faster." She shrugs. "If Misa is nice and patient, she can wait this out until Ryuuzaki realizes she's innocent. And... Well, more than that..."

L is watching her, but his expression is as blank and unreadable as always. Misa drops the whole third-person thing and says, in a huskier tone: "I want to show you how sorry I am, Ryuuzaki. I know I've been an ungrateful house-guest, and I should be thankful that you've decided to so graciously accept me into your home instead of locking me up again. I could really be a lot worse off, really." She smiles at him, and then adds, in her best imitation of sheepish embarrassment, "...but more than that, I wanted to tell you that I was sorry because... because I know I might have hurt you in the past. I know that after Light caught us I might have made it seem like... like I didn't _want_ you, or that I was using you as a replacement for Light because he was being so cold at the time... but the truth is, Ryuuzaki... the truth is that I... I really do think you're sweet, and _nice_, even if you have a weird way of showing it... and I think you're very attractive." She stares at her feet, gives him a great rendition of what is usually considered bashful.

There is a reason she is always getting those movie deals: she's an excellent actress, through and through. Her presentation is flawless, and of course L falls for it. She sees his hand reach out and hover just beneath her face, as though he wants to clasp her by the chin and make her look into his eyes. He seems to think better of it, however, and simply shoves his hands in his pockets instead.

"Misa really thinks I'm attractive?" he asks, almost wondrously, and leans to the left so that they are just a little bit closer.

"Y-Yeah." One day Misa is going to be up for an Oscar. She's fucking brilliant, and she knows it.

"Misa..." The detective turns so that he's facing her.

The blonde inclines his head. "Yes, Ryuuzaki?" she asks sweetly. _This is it... my first taste of victory..._

"Let's go inside and have some cake," he says, and she blinks in confusion as he begins to shuffle away.

--

"Hey there, Light!" says the officer at the front desk when Light walks in later. "I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?"

"Not good, I'm afraid," Light responds gravely, doing his best to appear troubled. "You see... my girlfriend, Misa Amane, hasn't been returning my calls lately... and when I went to her apartment today she wasn't there. I think she may have gone missing..."

--

"Ryuuzaki," comes Watari's voice through the speakers hung in L's room, just after 3AM.

The shaggy-haired detective does not look up the news article he's currently skimming over on the internet. "Yes?"

"Misa has just left the confines of her room." There is a sense of urgency in the old man's voice. "Shall I send someone to retrieve her?"

L seems to mull it over. "No," he says finally, closing his laptop and setting it gently on the floor. "Let's leave her be, for now."

A few moments later there is a soft knocking at his door.

--

**A/N (cont.):** annnnd the next chapter is bound to be VERY interesting. henh henh henh. :cackles:

_Light:_ "...my **GIRLFRIEND**, Misa Amane..."

XD XD XD yeah okay so it wasn't quite like that but whatever.

i want to thank everyone with their overwhelmingly positive response last chapter. you guys are great! you always make my day. i promise to update again soon


	12. liar: it takes one to know one

**A/N: **without a doubt, the hardest thing about writing this particular work of fiction is the transition from hate-to-love regarding Misa's feelings toward L. since we've just started to breach that particular subject, i feel as though i am stretching the bounds of what can be considered believable, and 'true' to the characters. we'll see how i do.

Canon-Misa is so very unspeakably devoted to Light, and oh-so-in-love, so it's really hard to manipulate the circumstances in which she can learn to feel affection for his greatest rival. this is just the beginning of that shift of infatuation. furthermore, one has to wonder if Misa can really be considered _Misa_ while missing such a fundamental piece to her character structure: and that is her very devotion to Light. so i mean is it really possible for her NOT to love Light, and love L instead, while still managing to stay in character enough for this story to work? ... i'd honestly have to say no. you can't simply eliminate Light from the picture - no, not really. i know this may sound like i don't have faith in my own abilities but... well, you'll see where i'm going with this eventually.

just not today. :)

--

that is the hardest part

- The Barenaked Ladies

**v.**

"Come in," L tells her, and the door swings slowly open. Misa is framed in the dim light of the hallway, hair slightly rumpled and wearing a set of flannels Watari had previously given her the night before. She hovers in the entrance for a moment, as if suddenly unsure of herself.

"Misa-san is up late tonight," the detective observes.

"Couldn't sleep," Misa mumbles. "Can Misa sit with you?" L nods, and she shuffles across the plush carpeting to sit down on the bed beside him. Once seated, she glances around, and seems surprised by the sparseness of the room.

"Everything is so plain," she muses out loud after a moment. "No pictures of friends or family, no personal effects at all?"  
"I grew up in an orphanage," he informs her, not unkindly, "so I don't have any real family to have pictures of."

"Oh." She seems flustered by the revelation; embarrassed, even. "I'm sorry." L doesn't say anything.

"Misa wants to apologize again," she says finally, when it becomes clear L is not going to strike up a conversation on his own accord. "For saying all those... nasty things... when you took her. She didn't mean them."

"Misa, the first apology was satisfactory enough," L tells her gently. "There is no need to offer me another."

"Don't you ever get lonely in such a big house?" she asks suddenly, peering keenly into his face. "There's so many rooms... and it's out in the middle of no where too..."

"I'm usually away working on cases," L reminds her. "But no, I don't think so. I prefer... solitude."

"Although it's kind of romantic," Misa admits after a moment, nodding appreciatively. "It's very secluded... and in such a pretty location... like a fairytale cottage." Still L has nothing and the two of them stare at one another, neither of them blinking. Then she leans in a little closer.

"Ryuuzaki..." she whispers.

"Yes, Misa-san?"

"Do you think it would be weird- " her breath smells like toothpaste up close "- if Misa were to kiss you right now? Because Misa really, _really_ want to."

"I think it might be inappropriate," he admits slowly. "Given the current circumstances."

"Misa thought so," the blonde murmurs, but she does so anyway. L resists the urge to reach out and touch her, to caress her, and she awards him the same courtesy in return. It is a long time before Misa finally pulls away, and when she does her lips are moist and slightly parted; and her eyes carry that familiar glazed look that L finds so unspeakably attractive.

"Misa-san looks very beautiful in the moonlight," he whispers with absolute sincerity.

A pity she was such an ugly liar, though.

--

Light is supposed to be meeting Takada at the park, but of course she's late because apparently no girl can ever be on time for anything. The teenage prodigy glances down at his watch in irritation, stifles a sigh, and resumes scanning the crowd gathered some hundred years away, in hopes that she will eventually emerge from it.

Due to an honest coincidence, they are meeting in a place where a Pro-Kira rally is currently taking place. Light doesn't really mind - he's actually quite smug about it, really, _(my influence is spreading_) - but if L were to ever find out it might cause trouble for him. Still, some things cannot be helped, and so Light simply has to shrug it off and hope for the best.

Too bad most of his rampant supporters were such _morons_. The girl serving as the MC for the event isn't fit enough to lick Light's left shoe, and he is more than a little disgusted that she is the one chosen to host the whole thing.

"Kira, Kira, rah, rah, rah!" She chants shrilly, the very sound of her voice offensive to Light's ears. The crowd mimics her dutifully.

Still, idiocy aside, Light rather enjoys hearing the others' supportive cries, their exaltations and their exuberant praise. _If only you knew that Kira was standing just a few feet away... _he smirks at the thought.

"Hey, Light!"

Light pivots on his heel just in time to see Takada striding toward him briskly. Her cheeks are a little pink from the cold, and a pale, wispy rise of steam exudes from her mouth as she breathes.

"Kiyomi," Light smiles warmly at her, and he is vaguely aware of the mic changing hands in the distance as they embrace. Takada isn't wearing a jacket, and her flimsy blouse is cool to the touch. "Aren't you freezing?" he asks incredulously, as they hold one another at arms' length.

"A little," she admits when they pull away. "I didn't expect it to be so cold out... and it doesn't help that there's a breeze..."

"Here." He shrugs off his jacket and chivalrously offers it to her. "Take mine."

"Oh no, I couldn't..." she protests weakly, but when Light ignores her and drapes it across her shoulders anyway, she looks exceptionally pleased.

_Women are so easy to read, _he thinks. "So how did exams go?"

"Oh, they were fine..." Takada says with a dismissive shrug. Then she looks up into his eyes admiringly. "You know, I've really missed you back on campus. You're coming back next semester though, right?"

"Right." Light drapes an arm casually across her shoulders and begins leading her away. "But enough about school, Takada... I want to spend some quality, _romantic_ time together now that I'm back..."

"Did you really miss me that much?" Takada asks shyly, snuggling up against him as they saunter down the path, deeper into the park.

"Kira is the answer to our prayers: a just and righteous person..." rhapsodizes a new voice into the microphone, wafting up through the trees behind them.

_Now that's more like it... _Light thinks, pleased. "Yeah. I was thinking about you every day while I was away..."

"A friend to the weak... the personification of justice..."

"_Every_ day?" Takada says teasingly. "Really?"

_This guy definitely has the right idea... _"Really," he agrees, a little distractedly.

"Where did you go, though?" Takada implores after a moment. "Why did you have to leave?"

"...He is single-handedly ridding the world of evil... truly, we should revere him as a God..."

"Light?" Takada stops suddenly, turning to face him. "Light? Are you going to answer me? Are you even paying attention?"

_Damn it, if she would just shut up so I could hear! _Light thinks irritably. "I'm sorry Kiyomi," he says apologetically, and of course he sounds like he truly means it. "I'm just a little distracted with... well... _that_." He gestures vaguely behind them, and they both turn back to look.

Takada makes a face. "Yeah, they _are_ pretty loud, aren't they?"

"What do you make of all that anyway, Kiyomi?"

"... Well, I don't know. I'm definitely sympathetic to Kira's cause, but some of his supporters are downright creepy and weird…"

"I agree." And he does, more-so than she could ever guess. "Who is that guy, I wonder?"

Takada folds her arms across her chest as she studies the figure from a distance. "Looks almost like a lawyer."

"That would explain his stance regarding the matter, at least," Light murmurs thoughtfully. "No doubt he's seen a lot of corruption in his line of work, with criminals and then within the judicial system too..."

"He looks so serious…" Takada observes, frowning thoughtfully up at him.

_Who is this guy?_ Light wonders again, but this time he doesn't have to wait long for the answer. Just mere moments after the man returns into the throng of people below, and the MC addresses him personally as he goes.

"And thank you, Teru Mikami, for such an inspiring and heart-felt speech!"

_Mikami, huh? I'll be sure to remember that name… _

--

The seduction is gradual. Misa knows that she can't do a complete one-eighty in terms of behavior and pull off fucking him in the same night – such a straightforward approach is bound to set off alarms into L's head. _Baby steps_, she tells herself repeatedly, a mantra for her nerves as she continuously visits him, night after night. The progress is slow, but steady; with every passing evening L seems to grow more and more relaxed in her company, allows Misa to manipulate things that much further. For now, it's simply a milder version of what had transpired between them back at the Task Force Headquarters. It is a painstakingly slow process, but Misa is slowly working her way past L's defenses, like she first did so many moons before.

There are certain guidelines that they follow, in this strange dance of decadence that Misa is leading. There is always idle talk beforehand, an exchange of words. Misa is always the one to initiate the kiss; she is also always the one to decide when it's time to leave. The encounters are always between three and four; they operate on a fairly concise schedule. Although L never denies her whimsical impulses, he never encourages them, either. He is mute, dumb, throughout the entire process; her kisses seem to literally capture the words right out of is mouth.

And the most important element to this methodical approach to moral decay: every time she visits, Misa adds a little something extra into the mix; she wraps her arms around him, or leans down to brush her lips across the pale skin of his neck – later she will replace those lips with teeth. Eventually her fingers will become involved in the process; they will intertwine themselves in the dark matted locks of his hair, and _pull__,_ as she runs the wet warm muscle that serves as her tongue over ghostly-hued, sensitive flesh.

It a progressive degradation from what is wholesome to what is slowly becoming erotic. Misa knows she has to be patient, has to be careful in order for this to lead her to the eventuality that she has been waiting for.

--

After that fateful encounter in the park, Teru Mikami just seems to be popping up everywhere. Light sees his name in the byline for Pro-Kira editorials in the newspaper; watches him give empowering speeches on Sakura TV during the debates. If there is any local Kira rally scheduled to take place, you can bet Mikami is at the forefront of it, sharing the gospel of Kira with the masses. He is clearly dedicated to the cause – he, better than anyone Light has seen so far, truly understands what Light is trying to accomplish here. He is eternally grateful, encouraging. He desires all the things that Light desires himself. He is doing his part in order to help usher in the dawn of a New World.

Light looks into him; does some research. He finds out that the man is currently apprenticing at a prosecuting firm, and has just graduated from prestigious law school in northern Japan. He isn't very much older than Light is himself – but it's perfect, it's almost too perfect, because it fits the profile L had initially devised for Kira brilliantly. _(A young person, most likely a student… someone with idealistic views, not yet tainted by the reality of society…)_

He is well-spoken, eloquent and refined. He is educated, quiet and sure of himself. He dresses sharp; he presents himself well and is fairly handsome. He is well-versed, a man with an undeniably strong sense of justice. But most importantly, he reveres Kira as "God."

He is everything Light has been looking for.

"Rem," the brunette says, twelve days after Misa and L's disappearance, and thirteen days since Higuichi's capture and Kira's last execution. Light Yagami knows that time is short; that it will be only a matter of hours before L discovers that the thirteen day rule is false, assuming the detective set out do test it the day that he closed the case. Light is not allowing himself any sense of false security – he has to operate off of the idea that L is diligently working on undoing all his hard work _right now_. In which case, it's just a scant few hundred minutes before Light is once again considered his prime suspect when the killings start anew.

The shinigami drifts through the walls and into Light's room. It's midnight, and Light has already checked for bugs just in case. His dad is asleep, and the room is safe from probing eyes and ears – for now.

"Check her picture again," Light says, holding up a picture of Misa he had printed earlier in the evening. "Her numbers are still visible, right?"

"…Yes…" the shinigami says wearily.

"Don't worry," he assures her. "Even though L is going to know for sure that the thirteen-day-rule is false in just a little while, Misa will be perfectly fine. As I'm sure I've told you before, the fact that she's under surveillance right now is going to work in her advantage, since L knows the method of killing now. Since he'll be watching her twenty-four/seven when Kira begins killing anew, it will become apparent very quickly that she is not the one conducting the murders. Her innocence is assured." His look turns decidedly smug. "And then, when Misa is finally released from captivity, we can have her simply write down L's name and kill him. Then we won't ever have to worry about her well-being again, Rem, wont that be nice?"

_And even if she doesn't remember his name from when she had the Eyes before… she will most certainly make the trade again if I relinquish this notebook and give it to her instead… then once L publically re-opens the case, we can arrange for Misa to meet up with him and learn his name that way. Either way, the outcome will be the same: L will die. _

Light smiles warmly at the thought, although his enthusiasm is curbed slightly from the one potential setback to his plans. _Although I really hope she remembers the name so it doesn't have to come to that… I don't really want to relinquish control of this Death Note without one of my own… still, the new Kira will have to keep up the killings in order to keep the focus off of me… a temporary setback, but necessary in the long haul I suppose. Anyway, once L is dead, I can have Ryuk's notebook transferred back to me. _He looks back at Rem, who is watching him with that same mistrustful gaze he has gotten so accustomed to lately._ On second thought, that might be a little better, actually; I'd rather have Ryuk be attached to me than this meddlesome beast…_

"In the meantime, however, we can sure that _I _will re-assume the mantle as L's prime Kira suspect. There's a good chance the house will be bugged again once the killings resume… and we can probably expect me to be tailed when I'm outside of the house, too. Because of the heightened surveillance this time around, Rem, I'm going to have to ask that you keep your distance… because while the person assigned to follow me might not be able to see you, L most certainly will…"

"I understand," Rem says slowly.

"You cannot approach me under circumstances. When I decide it's safe for us to come in contact again… I'll find you. Hopefully this will be right around the time that we initiate Phase 2: the part where Misa is set free and can then go about of disposing L.

"And so it's time for you to take leave of this place," Light continues, gesturing out his bedroom window and into the darkness beyond. "I want you to dig-up the notebook and get in touch with Ryuk. I want him to _personally _deliver the first ten pages from his Death Note and these instructions I've written for our new Kira." He passes over a sealed envelope. "Once the pages run out, Ryuk can go and fetch some more, over and over until it's safe for me to conduct the killings myself again… once again I have to stress that it is essential that Ryuk keeps the location of the Death Note hidden, and does not give the new Kira the entire notebook no matter what. I'm doing this as a precaution, should L ever somehow make the connection and ransack his place. Do you understand?"

Rem nods. "But who is Ryuk going to deliver the pages to?"

"His name is Teru Mikami," Light tells her, appearing smug. "He is a man whose own ideals closely parallel Kira's own, with a sense of righteousness that is necessary in order for us to be able to pull off flawlessly." He smirks. "He is a subservient, empathetic follower, and I plan to reward his devotion to me thus far by making him my Prophet."

--

Misa has lost track of the exact number of days she has spent in captivity, confined behind the wrought-iron, ivy-entwined fence of Chateau de Lawliet. She doesn't know if L has yet to put into motion his plan for unraveling the 13 day rule's falsehood, but if did she knows that the time required to reveal its integrity is drawing close.

Thankfully it is quiet on Kira's end, and there have been no new murders reported since Higuichi's, at least as far as Misa can tell. She's eternally grateful that Light has played it safe this far; clearly, the boy has somehow figured out just what L is doing… it's the only logical explanation for this era of peace.

Misa's original plan of seduction was utilized in order to be able to get in contact with Light, to lure L into a false sense of security so that she could sneak something past him; devised in order to warn him of L's intention to test the rule so that he did not waltz directly into a trap. Since Light seems to have clearly suspected this much without Misa getting in touch with him, however, it's no longer a priority. _Now_ Misa simply needs to bide her time before L lets her go. Because this lull between reigns is a clear indicator to her: she knows now that even if the killings were to begin anew, Light will have done so in such a manner to avoid detection. He has a Plan, although she has no idea what it may be. And this comforts her.

So now it's simply a matter of playing the waiting time until L is forced to release her from captivity. Seducing him now is something of a time-waster, but she decides to indulge herself anyway, because… well… why not?

(And maybe there are other reasons too, _real _reasons she's not quite entirely conscious of as of yet. The nights in Chateau de Lawliet are lonely without a body to share heat with, without someone to talk to. And L is company – poor company in comparison to her beloved Light, but company regardless. The alternative to seducing him, which is _not _seducing him, seems downright dreary in contrast.)

He has been a suitable, capable lover in the past, and in this maddeningly slow pursuit leading up to carnal indulgence has been agonizing to endure so far. She begins to yearn for his touch, to ache for the feel of him inside of her, as the nights drag on. She tells herself that she misses the sense of accomplishment, the way it feels to be on top, to know that you've completely bested someone in every way. She tells herself that she simply misses _owning_ him.

But the fact of the matter is that she has lost her objective. ("I want to" is not a justifiable excuse. This will not help or hinder Light in the undoing of his mortal enemy in the slightest, not at this point.) There is no underlying motive here, in seeking him out – she just _does_. The dynamic has shifted.

_I have to be patient… baby steps… baby steps…_

Because she _wants_ him. And it's in this moment that her seduction imperceptibly shifts from being a tool to being a desire. And threaded in this desire – a wanton feeling borne out of what was previously considered a means of achieving a higher goal – is the start of her undoing.

--

**A/N (cont):** ...and there will be smut the next chapter. i promise xD

and so we finally get some perspective from L's POV, which i've very deliberately avoided doing up until this point. now that we've gone past the point of no return, however, his perspective will be occasionally popping up at intervals to help give us a better understanding of what the hell is going on. xD

thank you thank you thank you to everyone that's reviewed! your encouragement and praise is very much appreciated, and helps motivate me churn these babies out. at this rate, i might even finish before the semester starts xD and wouldn't that be nice, because then i wouldn't have to freak out while trying to balance complicated plots and schoolwork at the same time.

until next time, guys!


	13. we show our affection synthetically

**A/N: **… and for once, I have absolutely nothing to say xD plot resumes next chapter.

--

You think it's only fair to do what's best for you and you alone

I think it's time to make this something that is more than fair

- Barenaked Ladies

**vi.**

_"What have you got against Kira, anyway?" Misa asks him one evening, over tea. _

--

The time has come, and so many things are about to happen as the clock strikes 3AM.

L has been dreading and anticipating it in waves, and the impending threat of it has left him nauseated and vaguely uneasy as the night wears on to the hours of early morning. His face remains impassive as he finishes up a report on his computer, but within the confines of his mind there is a hurricane, a violent storm of mingled emotions, thoughts, perceptions.

He hears the deep resonating gongs of the antique long case clock in the hall. Just as it finishes sounding the hour, L hears a knock at his door. He taps out a few commands into the keyboard of his computer, overriding the surveillance cameras currently offering live feed into his bedroom. Apparently satisfied, he closes his laptop and puts it on the floor, then curls his toes along the edge of it and pushes it far under the recesses of the bed.

"Come in," he says, and Misa enters.

--

_"Are you afraid he's going to put you out of a job, Ryuuzaki-san?" There is a hint of laughing her voice; she is mocking him._

_"I will never be out of a job," L answers, as he drops four white sugar cubes into his cup, and then three brown ones. He stirs it with a tiny silver spoon before bringing the pale, delicate china to his lips. "As long as Kira remains at large."_

--

Misa is in her bra and panties, half-straddling his lap as she kisses him. The blonde makes wanting little noises against his lips as her hands slide through the dark tresses of his hair, seizing handfuls of ebony colored strands and twisting them around her knuckles. L takes the tugging as his scalp as an indication that he should immerse himself in the matter at hand more fully and finally makes his move as an active participant in their approaching copulation.

The detective's traces the back of hand down along her cheek, chin, and then along the elegant curve of her neck, the pale flesh of her shoulder. She shivers as she pulls herself free from him, leaning back on her palms and arching her back, giving him more to explore. She regards him with a sultry, heavy-lidded stare and L slowly retracts his hand.

L is chewing the fingernail on his left thumb as he sits on his knees, balanced precariously along the edge of the bed while he studies her. His eyes are searching and calculating, as though internally considering his next move. She takes his hand and gently steers it away from his mouth. "No," she says firmly, her eyes flashing in a way that is almost dangerous. "Don't stop and think about it, just _do_ it. Misa wants more."

--

_"What Kira is trying to accomplish here isn't all different from what _you're_ trying to accomplish, you know," Misa tries. _

_"Then perhaps if Kira should like to make the world a better place, he should work things from _my_ angle," L answers sleekly, taking another sip. "If he wants so desperately to make a difference, perhaps he should try being a humanitarian, or a detective, or a prosecutor. Don't allow yourself to be deceived by his false pretenses, Misa: his goal here is not altruistic; he does not simply want to right wrongs. He wants to be a _God_. And that motivation alone makes him unworthy of the right to play judge, jury, and executioner."_

_--_

When his hands reach up between her legs and feel the warmth radiating from underneath her panties, Misa's breath noticeably hitches. Her eyes flutter closed as she has to try to find a lower, more tolerable key.

Their foreheads rest against one another as he leans in and kisses her again. Their tongues intertwine and Misa's legs spread further apart, offering herself to him. She moans something unintelligible into his mouth as his hands finally seize the hem of her undergarments and pull them down. Her mound is hot to the touch and there is a line of soft, downy hair leading to her center. L runs his finger down the length of it before gently pushing two fingers into her slick, waiting heat.

Suddenly her hands are at the zipper of his pants.

"Ryuuzaki." Her voice is different, huskier. "Please."

--

_"The current legal system is flawed," Misa argues. "It is built on lies, money and _arrogance_." She stares hard at L as she emphasizes the last word, giving the Greatest Detective in the World a highly significant look as she does so. "Kira has taken it upon himself to make the world a better place, and who can blame him? Everywhere you turn there is another killer going free, another rapist who isn't getting convicted. And then there are inmates who are on Death Row for years, and people who make a confession in trade for a life sentence instead of the chair! Where is the justice in that?" _

_Sometime during her speech Misa has rose out of her chair in a passion. Her hands are planted firmly on the coffee table in front of her, her face flushed, her chest literally heaving from the effort of her outburst. Across from her Ryuuzaki remains nonplused, completely unmoved by her performance. _

_"Ask not whom the gavel pounds, Kira," L answers, pouring himself another cup of tea. "As it pounds for thee."_

--

Misa's hands remain at the button of his pants as their eyes lock. At first, no one says anything, and a look crosses Misa's face: a look of muddled confusion, along with what appears to be fear and panic. She's afraid he's going to reject her, he realizes.

"Misa," L says, after what probably seems like an eternity to the younger girl. His voice sounds strange to himself, somehow also different. "I want to taste you."

For a moment her eyes search his face, as though uncomprehending. Then she blushes.

"O-okay," she says, in a shaky voice.

_--_

_"So he's a vigilante," Misa persists. "He works behind the scenes. He knows what he's doing is wrong. But he _is_ making a difference. So shouldn't we give him credit where it's due?"_

_L reaches to pour himself yet another cup, only to find that the kettle is empty. He sits his cup gently down on the table with a sigh. "Misa is adamant in her beliefs," he says, almost as if she isn't sitting right there beside him. "She is dedicated, she is loyal, she is grateful and she is passionate. Kira is very lucky to have someone like her on his side; a person who possesses such conviction." He pauses. "Even I must agree that Misa's implacability is laudable; indeed, it is those very traits in Misa that I personally find the most compelling of all."_

_Misa blinks at him, surprised by his unexpected praise._

_"...A shame that it is these same qualities in Misa that are most likely to kill me," he finishes wistfully._

_--_

The muscles in Misa's legs tense as L settles himself between her thighs. Suddenly she is a bundled, coiled knot of muscle before him, and curiously L wonders if she's as new to this as he is. She smells faintly of musk and girl-sweat up close, a decidedly different smell but not so unusual in its unfamiliarity that it creates an aversion for L. He closes his eyes as he leans in and draws his first taste from her glistening wetness. Misa shudders as they make contact. Then she moans.

L is an intuitive learner, and apparently the key to pleasing a woman is approaching the matter much like you would a lollipop. A few minutes in, and he's a natural. (Suddenly, all that time spent previously indulging in sweets, day-in and day-out, gained significance: they served as practice for a functional use later on, in the stifling heat of the bedroom.) Misa sighs and runs her hands through his hair, her hips undulating slightly against his administrations.

L inhales the intoxicating scent of her, probes deeper. His teeth gently graze a tiny, quivering bud and Misa's muscles jump as a response. L takes that as a good sign, and does it again. And again.

It's only a matter of time before Misa's breathing becomes more irregular, her movements more erratic. She must be close, L thinks, and the thought is very stimulating to him. She's actually pulling his hair now, yanking it up like reins and it _stings _but still L persists.

"R-ryuuzaki..." she gasps out. "I..."

L decides to experiment a little. He takes the tiny nub between his teeth and tugs lightly. Misa's response is more extravagant than he initially expects: her entire body seizes up, legs clenching tightly around his face. Then it's over.

Misa collapses back against the comforters as L slowly eases away from her. He is as just as dazed as she is as he gets up onto his knees, crawls onto the bed beside him. Misa is trembling in the aftermath of her orgasm, her eyes glassy and holding a slightly far-away look. L's pants are uncomfortably tight in the front, and if he wonders if it would impolite to ask that she reciprocate, or if he should simply take care of the matter himself later, after she's went--

--Then his phone rings. L looks up an analog clock on the wall. 3:45.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, moving to stand. "I need to take this call." Misa watches him curiously as he flips open the phone and presses it to his ear. "Hello?"

The conversation is brief. When he hangs up Misa yawns, spreads out luxuriously on the bedspread.

"Who was that?" she inquires airily, although it's clear by her tone she doesn't expect an actual answer.

"Interpol," L responds, and Misa blinks at him. "They're just finished testing the thirteen day rule."

"...And?" she asks tentatively, after a moment.

_As if you don't already know_, L thinks, and simply shakes his head.

**end part two**


	14. am i the ace up your sleeve?

"We must not allow ourselves to become like the system we oppose."

- Bishop Desmond Tutu

--

**interlude**

Light fucks Takada on their second date. In taking her virginity, he has ensured her loyalty.

There may be a time in the future where he will have need for her. She can prove useful to him.

She is his safeguard, his Backup.

--

Of course, in proving the thirteen day rule to be false, L hasn't really actually _proved_ anything. He is one step closer, but he still lacks any real concrete evidence for to pin them with the murders. Well... he could probably have Misa executed with the hair follicle and pollen samples found on the envelopes sent to Sakura TV alone... but killing her gives him no satisfaction, no pleasure; because she is not his prime objective. Misa is many things to him, but most importantly, she is the missing link - the key to connecting his prime suspect - his intellectual equal - to Kira.

Whether deliberately or not, she is going to _give _him Light Yagami. L knows this. He just doesn't know _how_.

Victory is so close he can taste it. And the taste of it is bittersweet: because in achieving his goals, L is going to lose something very dear to him.

--

Misa has not killed anyone in over six months.

In a way, it is a relief: not because killing has ever weighed heavily on her _conscious_ or anything, and not because Misa isn't ready to _die_ for Light, should the need arise (because she is!) - but because the very act of killing is tedious and stressful and dangerous: tedious because Misa uses a pen to slay her foes, which is a very uninvolved approach and decidedly _boring_; stressful because she always has to be extra careful and has to always worry about screwing up all the time, about leaving evidence behind; and dangerous because if she _does_ screw up, she can jeopardize Light's life.

Misa is prepared to die for Light, to willingly sacrifice her remaining days on Earth in the name of the Greater Good - she knows she is expendable, that she is tool - but she loves Light, so this detail is minor and dismissible. That doesn't _matter_, no, not in the grand scheme of things. But to directly result in Light's own death - why, the very thought is treason (if even accidental) - it is _unforgivable_, and a_ sin_. And while Light is a saint, she isn't ready to make him a martyr just yet. Because the world _needs_ Light, their golden God, their divine protector. And Misa knows this.

But that burden is temporarily relieved from Misa's shoulders while under L's surveillance. Because L knows the method to their killings now - and has know their motive from the very start. In some ways, L deciding to haul Misa in on suspicion for the second Kira was the best thing to ever happen to her - to happen to _Light_. Because Light is clever, far more clever than Misa could ever hope to be; he is analytical, he is reasonable, he is smart and he is unstoppable. And even with Misa temporarily removed from the picture, she knows that Light will find a way. Misa finds solace in this.

So Misa waits, biding her time until the moment comes where she can be of use to Light again. In the meantime, Misa gets to enjoy the luxury of being completely relieved of duty. She is young and she is pretty and she is care-free and she is currently residing in an enormous, expansive estate. She is allowed to eat good food, to sleep in late, to have sex. It's almost like a vacation.

Misa doesn't know when Chateau de Lawliet went from being her prison to being her holiday home. L is a most gracious host, and a stimulating conversationalist. He is good in bed. Sometimes he reminds her of Light - L is so hell-bent on justice like _he _is; the only difference is that he's working at it from a different angle - and the similarity connects her to another world. She finds it comforting, endearing.

Misa is losing her focus. She knows this. She has spent far too much time on the sidelines and it's making her go soft. She is not turning traitor - but she is becoming more susceptible to L's charms, bit by bit. Is this brainwashing? Is L manipulating her in a way that has previously gone unnoticed by her until now? Is this somehow an elaborate plot of his, somehow _his _doing?

What is this feeling, something borne out of the wings of desire? What is this... this unknown variable, this X factor? Misa doesn't know. She just can't put her finger on it...

_I've got to get out of here._

_--_

It's on a brisk January morning - during the first day of classes for To-Oh University's spring semester - that the _era of peace_ ends.

Kira is back.


	15. we shadow box and double cross

**A/N: **you know that's positively delightful? unearthing 180 dollars worth of unused gift cards from Macy's that date back to 2001… and finding out that they still _work_. seriously, they didn't depreciate in the seven years that i've had them, not by _a single cent_. so i went in and stocked up on some perfume for the rest of the year… and also treated myself to Gwen Stefani's "L" scent, which makes me giggle every time i look at the box. (And if you look up a picture of the case, you'll see why. smells pretty good, too.)

ahh… but i digress. this chapter was oodles of fun to write, and includes a little teaser of what's to come next chapter, which will _extra_-fun to write. :D i hope you all enjoy! And thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far! you guys are great!

--

am i more than you bargained for yet?

i've been dying to tell you anything you want to hear

- F.O.B

**i.**

"It appears as though Misa-san has made headline news in Japan today," L says unexpectedly one afternoon.

Misa looks up from the glossy pictures she's been admiring in a French fashion magazine L has given her. "What?" she asks, throwing down the magazine on the table and yanking the newspaper out of L's hands. "What are they saying?" Her eyes widen in surprise as she catches sight of her own smiling face staring back at her from a picture that was taken from her last photo shoot "Misa has been missing for two months?!"

"We're on day 60, according to the official count for _Tokyo News_," L informs her, in reference to the newspaper Misa was currently poring over.

"Hey look!" Misa says excitedly, as she absorbs the text at an alarming rate, her eyes flicking across the page as she does so. "There's an interview with Light on page 8!" She practically rips open the paper in search for the section in question.

She eventually finds a picture of Light wearing an especially grave expression on the aforementioned page. Underneath is a caption from the story. Misa's heart swells at the sight of her beloved. "He looks so _concerned_!" she gushes happily.

"Did you read what he has to say?" L asks her in a strange voice.

"Not yet," she answers, lifting an eyebrow at him. "Why?"

"Read it." She blinks at him, and then abruptly returns to the task at hand. She goes half-way down the page before she finds a section with a Q&A session between the writer of the story and Light. There's nothing really spectacular about any of the questions or Light's answers, except that Misa has tangible proof in her hands that Light very obviously cares about her. She blushes happily as she reads.

"It says here that he was the one who reported me missing!" Misa swoons, swaying in delight.

"The last question," L says, ignoring her. "At the bottom."

Misa recovers, obliges, and skips to the very last question where the reporter asks Light:

**Do you have any theories as to where Misa Amane has gone off to? Do you suspect foul play, or do you think she left on her own accord? Do you think she'll come back?**

A reasonable inquiry, Misa thinks. Then she takes in Light's surprising answer:

_To be perfectly honest, I think Misa has left the country to run off with another man._

She stares at the page for a long time, uncomprehending.

"Tell me, Misa," L says, and he sounds curious. "What do you think Light could possibly mean by that?"

"...I... I don't know," Misa admits, truthfully at a loss. _But this whole time there were no killings... I thought he _knew_, and that's why he was being so careful... _"He thinks I ran off with someone?" She looked up at L, to see if he seemed to know any better than she did.

"He's calling me out," L says, in that same strange tone he had adopted earlier.

"...He thinks we ran away together to have an affair?"

"No, Misa," L shakes his head. "I'm now 90 percent positive Light-kun knows that I have apprehended you and left the country in order to go back into hiding, as he has so subtly revealed here."

"But if he really thinks that, why wouldn't he just_ say _so?" Misa asks, clearly baffled.

"Perhaps he doesn't want to draw too much attention to it."

"...Because he knows that you think he's Kira?" Misa offers, a little disgustedly. "And he's afraid you might turn around and publically slander him with your theories regarding his role in the heart-attacks?"

"No, Misa," L says with a vague smile, and shakes his head. "And before I divulge with you what I _really _think he's trying to play at here, I would first like to reassure you that I would never do such a thing."

"What? The great L is above blackmailing?" Misa snorts.

"I never said that. But revealing Light-kun as Kira to the media would simply make him a saint in the eyes of his believers. In fact, drawing attention to Light Yagami as the culprit behind these murders in _general_ would be very counter-productive to what I am trying to accomplish here. For instance, if I were to take him in later, there would undoubtedly be a public outcry."

Misa frowns at him.

"But I digress. Back to my earlier point," L says, dismissing his earlier words with a shake of his shaggy head. "This is a message specifically addressed to me, otherwise cleverly disguised as some far-fetched theory regarding your motive for leaving. Light is well aware of what I'm trying to do here, and he wants me to know that he knows." Almost admiringly, the detective adds, "he's very devious like that."

--

_How coincidental, _L thinks, after the first of string of heart attacks makes international airways, _that Kira should resume killing the day Light Yagami returns to school. _He chews on the edge of his thumb thoughtfully as he watches the reporters discuss the breaking development on one of France's popular news stations.

"Ryuuzaki?" Misa asks, as she enters the detective's personal study. "Can Misa come in? What're you watching?"

"It seems as though Light-kun is on the move again," L observes, his voice slightly muffled by his digit wedged in-between his teeth.

Misa sighs and approaches L from behind. "For the last time, Ryuuzaki, Light is _not_ Kira." She settles her hands on the back of L's chair, leaning over his shoulder so that she can watch the screen too. Her hair smells faintly of the strawberry shampoo L had stocked her personal bathroom with upon her arrival.

"How many victims?" she asks, because the news casters are speaking in French and she can't understand a word they are saying.

"Twenty four confirmed so far."

"In one _day_?" Misa asks incredulously, recoiling away from the TV in surprise. "That's a lot!"

"Indeed," L agrees, eyes narrowing slightly. "Seems he's making up for lost time." He feels Misa stiffen behind him.

_What's Kira thinking? _L wonders, frowning deeply. _This is a very deliberate move on Light's part. He can't simply be ignorant enough to think that I would dismiss the idea of him being Kira simply because the murders are happening while he's at school... if anything, it's almost as though he's counting on me to make the connection... it's an invitation, a challenge. _He blinks owlishly as the epiphany dawns upon him. _Kira _wants_ me to investigate him._

"If Misa-san will excuse me for a moment," L says, moving to stand. "I've got a phone call I need to make..."

"W-what?" Misa blinks at him in surprise. "Oh... sure..."

_--_

Light smirks as he watches the latest updated figures for today's string of heart-attacks scroll across the TV screen.

_24? Excellent! You've done well, Mikami... as I knew you would... _

"What're you watching, Light?" Sayu asks, as her footsteps approach him from behind. She plops down on the couch beside him, and then immediately stands back up again when she sees what's on. "Seriously, you're watching this? But it's so _morbid_," she complains, and retreats back into the kitchen.

"It's important news," Light insists, which is perfectly true. "Hey, Sayu, while you're in there, get me a bag of chips, will you?"

"Looks like dad will be working overtime again..." Sayu says, a little drearily, as she rummages through the pantry behind him.

_And it looks like L will be forced to re-open the investigation soon... No doubt he'll be returning to Japan shortly to do exactly that... _

"Heads up, Light!" Sayu calls gleefully, and pegs Light in the back of the head with a bag.

"Don't throw things, Sayu," Light says testily, but he reaches to where the chips fell anyway.

_I've deliberately instructed to Mikami to time these murders specifically between the hours of 9 to 6, the hours I'm at the university... because of the time frame, L will undoubtedly send someone to spy at me at school... then he'll probably set up surveillance cameras in my house again, like last time... and that's exactly what I want. I _want_ him to thoroughly investigate me first, because it will be prove my innocence to him that much sooner... and then he'll be forced to release Misa back to the public... and when he does..._

"Light? What're you laughing about?"

Light covered his mouth with his hand, still grinning at the thought. "Nothing. I was just thinking about a joke someone told at school today..."

_L, your time is almost up!_

_--_

"Watari, if you could please put me in touch with Roger at Wammy's House immediately," L instructs the elder man, as the two of them stand in the hall outside of his study.

"Of course, Ryuuzaki," Watari responds immediately. "But can I inquire as to why...?"

"Certainly," L says, putting his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to contract my heirs for the investigation."

--

**A/N (cont):** OOOOOOOOOH! XD

to be perfectly honest, giving the second-generation orphans some screen time in _Dynamism_ was purely a last-minute decision. originally i was just going to have some nameless spies go in to personally investigate Light at school (since I obviously can't use Aiber or Wedy again, since Light already _knows_ them), but i don't like inserting OC's by any means, even if they only have one or two lines. sometimes it's unavoidable (like the pilot from many chapters back… xD or the various members of Château de Lawliet's staff), but i've managed to very cleverly find my way around this particular instance. it is a decision that i'm rather happy with, and i hope you are too.

until next time, my sweets!


	16. don't bring me down, bruce

**A/N: **i'm just gonna go ahead and be honest here: i like to abuse L. maybe that's become apparent by now? xD hope you all enjoy.

--

down, down in an earlier round

and sugar, we're going down swinging

- F.O.B

**ii.**

L does not see Misa again until dinner is served, and even then, they do not speak. L is watching Misa while he works on his third piece of pie - watches her play with her food, not really eating anything. She is uncharacteristically quiet tonight. He wonders if she senses the rift between them, in the same way that he does.

They are on the threshold of something. L is not sure exactly what.

"You're not eating your food," L says finally. "Aren't you usually fond of the Penne Rustica?"

Misa looks up at him wearily. "Oh... I am... I'm just not really hungry tonight..."

What a striking contrast they offer in comparison to one another. Whereas Misa seems to have lost her appetite altogether, L is utterly famished. He has already cleared his plate two times already tonight, and is currently working on his third.

"We're going back to Japan tomorrow," L informs her, as he pours himself another cup of tea.

"To investigate Light," she says, slowly. "You're not letting Misa go yet."

"No, not yet," L agrees, fishing through the sugar bowl and picking out three brown cubes. He drops them into his cup, one by one, and droplets of hot tea splash on his saucer. "You will remain at Taskforce Headquarters with me. I will be utilizing their facilities during our stay in Japan. You are not, under any circumstances, allowed to venture outside the Headquarters, nor will you be allowed to get in touch with Light-kun or the others until I give you my consent."

"And when might that be?" she asks, and it is not mock-sweet, like it was in the beginning of her capture; it is tired, dejected-sounding. L could almost pity her, if he didn't know what she was capable of.

_This girl is a monster, _he tells himself, but the thought lacks conviction. There is no malice within him, no sense of disgust or revulsion.

"Until we have established whether you are, or are not, the second Kira."

"You know, Ryuuzaki," Misa says, as she absently prods her pasta with a fork. "You've always given Light percentages concerning his probability of being Kira. But you've never given Misa any. What are her numbers?"

"Do you really want to know?" he asks her seriously. She seems taken aback by his response. She looks unsure at first, and then resolve hardens.

"Yes," she says firmly.

"Misa-san's percentage of being Kira is..." He does the math in his head. "92 percent."

Misa's left eyelid twitches. "That's higher than any percentage you've ever given for Light," she says, almost accusingly.

"Because Light-kun is far more adept at being deceptive than Misa-san is," L tells her. "Misa-san wears her heart on her sleeve, plainly visible for anyone to see." He pauses and licks some sugar from his lips. "Light has had me second-guessing in the past. But with you, I've known all along."

Misa looks deeply uncomfortable. "I see," she says, slipping out of third-person as she looks down.

"You know, Misa-san," L says gently, and he gathers both of her hands in his own. It is a surprisingly forward gesture on L's behalf, and Misa is plainly surprised at his initiative, and with good reason. "Most people regard the inability to lie as a _good_ thing."

"It's not good when you're the second Kira," she says, and L knows that they are talking theoretically here, or that Misa thinks its theoretical. But she also knows that L knows she's guilty.

"We will be doing things a little differently this time around," L continues, as though this little derail has never even occurred. Misa doesn't even blink. "We will not be bringing Light-kun into custody to start with, but he _will _be placed under surveillance. We will refrain from bugging his house at this time, but I_ have _taken the liberty of contacting a little extra outside help in order to plant spies at his university."

"Outside help?" Misa echoes faintly. "Like Aiber and Wedy?"

"Oh, no," L says, the corners of his lips tugging upwards into a smile. "I need a set of fresh faces, you see, in order for Light's surveillance at school to go undetected. Fortunately I have a few successors in line who are very eagerly awaiting their turn to apprentice me and get in some much-needed field work."

"Successors?" Misa asks.

"My heirs," L clarifies, and the smile broadens. "Those who are next in line to assume my mantle as the detective force known as L, and the ones responsible to continue the Kira investigation, should I fall in the line of duty."

"H-heirs?" Misa asks, louder this time, and L already knows what she's thinking. "... You mean they're your...?"

"You could call them my children," L offers. "Although that would not be exactly true. We are bound by circumstances, disposition and inclination; not blood. There are protégés handpicked from intellect and deductive reasoning ability, and are groomed specifically to take over for me when I am no longer fit to mobilize the world's police forces." He stirs his tea. "You see, L is not a person, but an ideology. L is the personification of justice, a mask in which many different people will wear as the lineage progresses."

"But _you're_ L."

"For now," L admits, taking a sip from his cup. "I am also the first L, but I most certainly won't be the last. There is a whole school of people competing to be me."

"A whole... school...?"

(_It will go on forever_, Misa thinks dizzyingly. _Even if Light _does_ manage to kill L, it won't take long for another challenger to appear_...)

"The successors I've decided to recruit are my three best and brightest," L goes on to say. "Naturally, I will be taking extra security measures in order to obscure their identity from you, since you are the Kira who only needs to know a face in order to kill. However, I still must insist that you make no move to unmask them, or try to trick them into somehow revealing their face to you... although admittedly, thinking that you could do so is impossible, and frankly insulting to their intelligence to consider." She glares at him. "With that in mind, I would also to implore Misa-san, under the unlikely event that one of their faces is revealed to you, to please refrain from killing them as they are still young and relatively innocent, and I really am rather fond of them as it stands."

Misa leans over the table and slaps L across the face. The lanky detective spills some of his tea down his front and his already wide-eyes widen just that much further.

"How dare you imply that Misa would try and kill an innocent child," she spits, truly enraged. "Misa would _never_ do such a thing, even if she were Kira!"

L seems dubious, although Misa is angrier now than he's ever seen her.

"I like how you think Misa is some kind of heartless serial killer," Misa says. "Doesn't Kira represent justice? Where is the justice in killing kids? If anything, _you're _the one who's heartless_, L_, using children as cannon fodder by parading them in front of a Kira suspect!"

L dabs a napkin at his stained shirt. "I'm merely planting them in the school to further investigate my prime suspect," he rectifies for her. "I'm not going to, as you say, 'parade 'them in front of a mass murderer. Although the probability of Light being Kira" - it is the only time Misa has ever heard L drop the honorific when referring to the brunette - "has risen quite a substantial amount for _that_ little outburst, Amane."

"So what's it at now?" Misa gives a mirthless scream of laughter. "105 percent?"

"I find it interesting to note that you seem genuinely concerned for my heirs' well-being... could it be because Light_ is in fact Kira_?" Misa moves to stand, and so does L. "Do you think he would kill them, Amane? Innocent children? He didn't seem to have any moral quandary about killing those who have opposed him in the past... those whose only crime is having a difference in opinion..."

Misa punches L so hard she almost knocks him out.

--

**A/N (cont.): **don't worry, the heirs will be making their debut in the next chapter, i promise :3

PS. watch _Tropic Thunder_. it's guud.


	17. you can run, but we'll find you

**A/N: **the "L" masks referred to in this chapter are the same ones that Near wears in the anime during the Yellow Box Warehouse scene.

this chapter actually would have been apart of its predecessor if it weren't for the fact that i was incredibly tired last night and abandoned it. xD i can't believe there's only a few more chapters to go before we conclude this little story! i also can't believe i've accumulated over 30,000 words so far. O.O

thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far! hope you enjoy!

--

is this more than you bargained for yet?

oh don't mind me i'm watching you two from the closet

- F.O.B

**iii.**

Misa is awoken by the sounds of sheets rustling, and someone sliding into bed beside her.

"L...?" she asks blearily, as clammy hands slide around her waist from behind. "...What're you doing?"  
"I suppose I owe you an apology for earlier," he murmurs, molding himself against her back. "I was tactless, and I'm sorry."

She blinks sleepily. "...I forgive you, but.. what're you...?" She drifts off uselessly. Never, in all their times together, has L ever approached _her_ first, and the sudden role-swapping leaves her already sleep-heavy brain muddled and confused. Misa doesn't know what to make of all of this, and she cranes her head back slightly to look at him to order to gain better insight on the matter.

"Perhaps you were right," L says, his face obscured by the silky waves of her hair. "Château de Lawliet _is _a little lonely at night." Misa issues a husky little laugh and L places a single kiss on the back of her neck.

They sleep.

--

"You were the newspaper the other day," Takada says, gathering the sheets up around her breasts in order to cover them.

Beside her, Light is far more comfortable in his nakedness. His arms are folded behind his head, serving as a makeshift pillow to cushion his skull while Light stares up at the ceiling fan. He watches it make its lazy rotation above, completely at ease with himself. "Did you?"

"Yeah, you were interviewed about Misa's disapperance," Takada says, and Light knows where she's going with this; has seen it coming from a hundred miles away. "They called you her 'boyfriend'."

"Well, I _was_ her boyfriend," Light admits. "Before she ran of with another man."

"I can't believe she did that," Takada says, shaking her head. "But Light, I feel that it's important to ask... you're not... _rebounding _off of me, are you?"

Light tilts his head to one side so that they are facing one another, and fixes her with his usual intense stare. "Kiyomi," he says, very seriously. "Do I really strike you as that kind of person?"

Takada blushes under the scrutiny of his gaze. "N-no... of course not... I-I just get worried sometimes," she says, and finally the look he's leveling her with becomes too much for her to bear. She quickly turns away. "I-I'm being silly, I guess. Just.. forget I said anything."

Takada doesn't see him, but Light actually smiles.

_So easy_, he thinks.

--

"You know," Misa tells L, as they are ushered into a limousine upon arrival at Tokyo Airport. "Misa thinks it's kind of sweet that you care about the well-being of his wayward children enough to take extra precautions in order to protect them. Even if you _were_ rather tactless in asking Misa not to kill them."

"Oh?" he asks, as Watari slides in beside them.

"Yeah," Misa says, and she smiles mischeviously at him. "But don't worry, because Misa promises she wont."

"Well that's certainly a relief," he says, and the irony in Misa's statement is not lost on either of them.

They lapse into silence as the limo pulls away from curb and heads out to the freeway. The ride back to Taskforce Headquarters is completely uneventful, and Misa stares out the tinted windows of the vehicle vacantly, trying to find something to occupy her mind with.

Funny, she thought being back in Tokyo would make her happier than it did. _Our little journey will be coming to an end soon_, she thinks, with something a lot like wistfulness. Misa actually feels uneasy, because for once, she's not sure who's going to come out on top in this battle of wits. She has a pretty good idea of what Light is plotting on his end, but she's not exactly sure of the details, and that makes her nervous. Meanwhile, L has mounted a pretty good defense, and that worries her too.

It's the concept of the heirs that originally triggered this sense of distress. _A whole school of successors_, she thinks, not without a touch of admiration. _L has pretty good insurance, should he fail... a whole lineage of L's... can Light really even _win_, if that's the case? They'll just keep coming... I wonder how many there are..._

"So there's three of them coming, right?" she asks, as L busily chews on her nail. "Three heirs." He nods. "Are they waiting for us at Taskforce HQ? How old are they? Are they Japanese? Boys, or girls?"

"Yes," L says. "Fifteen, fifteen, and fourteen, respectively. And the school is in Winchester, but the children hail from different parts of the world. The eldest is from Germany, the second-eldest from America, and the third from Russia. They are all boys."

"_Do_ you have female heirs?"

"Yes, I do."

"What are these boys' names?" Misa asks, before she can help herself, and Watari shoots her a warning look. "Oops, Misa's sorry, she was honestly just curious. Do they speak Japanese?"

"Oh yes, all of them," L nods. "Quite fluently."

"Fifteen," she echoes, shaking her head. "That's really young..."

"We're here," Watari announces, just as the limo gently eases to a halt just before the enormous building that will now serve as L's headquarters. "Let me get the door for you, Ryuuzaki," the elder man says, and he goes to do exactly that.

--

The heirs are now lined up neatly before them. Two of them are standing, while the third is curled up on the floor beside them, idly playing with a Transformer. All of them are wearing masks with a caricature of L's face on the front.

"You look almost disappointed, Misa-san," L comments.

"This is your way of hiding their faces from Misa?" the blonde asks, arching her eyebrows up at him. "Somehow I expected... more..."

"Ah, I find them simple, practical, and most of all: unobtrusive."

"I wouldn't say _that_," the one in the middle pipes up. "As my face is sweating. Profusely."

The other one elbows him in the stomach. "Remember who you're addressing, jackass," he warns.

"...This is the future of tomorrow?" Misa asks, a little incredulously.

"Oh, they're very bright, I assure you," L says fondly. "So... I suppose proper introductions are in order, then? Misa, allow me to introduce you to, from left to right: Mello, Matt, and Near."

The only one who waves is Matt.

"Mello, Matt, Near: this is Misa Amane, the Second Kira." Mello and Matt stiffen slightly, but the one on the floor remains unimpressed. "Fortunately, Misa-san here has given me her word that she will not make an attempt on your life. So you are free to remove the masks if you wish."

Matt fidgets uncomfortably, looking to the elder boy beside him for guidance. "...Are you serious?" he asks no one in particular. Mello immediately whips off his mask in reply. He is a haughty-looking child, with straw-colored hair and brilliant blue optics.

"Hey," he says, regarding her intently.

Matt takes his off second, looking uncertain as he does so. Immediately the redheaded youth fishes into his pocket and produces a pair of chipped and worn-looking yellow goggles. He pulls them down roughly over his eyes.

"Uhm...?" Misa asks, but then Near pulls off of his mask as well. She would have pinned him for an albino if it weren't for the fact that the infinite depths of his eyes were black, just like L's eyes. In fact, out of all three heirs, it was only Matt's eyes who did not have the same kind of "dead" quality that L's own did.

_L's army_, Misa thinks._ His successors._

"Hi," she says, awkwardly, addressing them all.

"So would I be correct in assuming that you've all gone over the papers I've e-mailed Roger with, regarding the case?" L asks.

"Yes," they chorus immediately.

"Then I would imagine you're aware of what needs to be done."

"You need for us to be your eyes and your ears at To-Oh university," Near says, and Mello shoots him a filthy look. Misa blinks in surprise at the open animosity, but either L hasn't seen taken notice of it or he has very plainly chosen to ignore it.

"Yes, I need you three to be on the look-out for any suspicious behavior regarding our prime suspect, Light Yagami, and those who are close to him. It is extremely likely that Light will expect someone to be tailing him; thus, he might have taken the liberty to establish a proxy-Kira to take over the killings for him while we are investigating him. I am 90 certain that this person is one of his classmates, as the murders resumed the first day of spring semester."

"Anyone we should be looking out for in particular?" Matt asks, and Mello glares at him.

"Oh, you mean like Kiyomi Takada?" the blonde youth says, shaking his head in disgust. "It was in the case files he sent us, Matt, were you even paying attention?"  
"Takada?" Misa asks, rounding her gaze on L.

"Light's assumed girlfriend, present shortly before our initial introductions," L tells her.

"Light had a _girlfriend_?" Misa is shocked. _I knew he said he would be seeing people on the side but... I didn't really expect him to... I had no idea... Ooh, that makes me so mad!_

"He probably still does," Mello says, with a knowing smirk. Misa feels like hitting him. Matt sees her murderous look and wisely warns:

"Uh, Mello, you probably shouldn't be pissing off the Second Kira like that."

"Who cares? She doesn't have a notebook." This time Misa actually _does_ make a move to hit him, but a gentle hand on her shoulder stops her.

"Misa-san," L says.

"I'm _not_ the second Kira," she responds adamantly. "L just _thinks_ that I am."

"Give us some numbers, L," Mello urges.

"96 percent."  
"It went _up_?" Misa shrieks in rage, turning on him.

"It's hopeless," Mello tells her, with that same maddening smile. "He's L, a combination of the world's three greatest detectives all put together to make up a single entity. You never even stood a chance."

--

"Goodbye, Light," Takada says, as Light walks her up the steps to her next class. "I'll see you later in Psychology."

"Bye, Kiyomi," Light says, and Takada leans in to kiss him quickly before hurrying into her Biology classroom. She's almost late, and nearly all of the tables are occupied by other noisy university students. She snags an open seat by the door, at a table with a white-haired boy who she's never seen before.

She glances sideways at him. He is so unusual-looking, and so obviously foreign. That's not much of a surprise: To-Oh University is a prestigious school, and it draws in students from every reach of the globe. Still, everything seems so very off about the boy, from the way he absently twirls a lock of snow-white hair around his index finger, to his posture, to his clothes (were those… _pajamas?_ Takada is appalled when she realizes that they _are_.) He could not look more out-of-place, in the midst of all these scholarly-looking Japanese kids.

Then she notices something. "Uhm, you should probably put some shoes on," she advises quietly. "We're doing a lab today."

"Oh," the boy says, inclining his head slowly to look at her. "Thanks for telling me. Do you want to be partners?"

"…Sure," Takada says hesitantly, wondering just what she's getting herself into. Still, after she gets over her initial apprehension, she recalls her good manners and says, "I'm Kiyomi Takada. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The boy gives her a curious little half-smile. "And my name," he says quietly, his soulless black eyes boring into her own as he regards her, "is Near."

--

"Hey, Light Yagami, right?" addresses a voice, just as Light is about to walk into his Sociology class. "You did the Freshman address, didn't you? Top of our class?"

"Uh, yeah, that's me," Light says, pausing in the doorway. He sees a blonde boy leaning against the wall just off to the right, arms folded across his chest as he speaks. He is watching Light with a decidedly smug look, his blue eyes glittering in faint amusement – or was it a challenge?

_Who is this guy? _Light thinks, frowning faintly at him. The boy doesn't even look old enough to be here on campus. "I'm sorry," he says politely. "But do I know you…?"

"No, you don't," he the boy answers, still smiling in that unpleasant manner. "But I know _you_. My name is Mello." He offers his hand to shake.

"I take it you're not from around here?" Light says with a smile, even though _that's _plainly obvious; shaking hands is mostly a cultural thing that isn't all that prevalent here in Japan. He moves to take Mello's hand anyway but then the blonde abruptly shoves it into one of the pockets in his black, fur-lined jacket.

"No," he agrees, simpering. "I'm not."

"I'm sorry," Light says, a little aggravated now. "But did you have something to say to me? Because I'm about to be late for class as it is…"

"Oh, this is my class too." His smile widens. "But I have something I want to tell you, before we go inside." He waits, apparently gauging Light's reaction.

Light is really impatient by this point. "And that is…?" he prompts.

"You're being watched," Mello says, in a voice barely above a conspiratorial whisper. "L's heirs are onto you." And he pushes past the brunette to stomp inside.

--

"Damn it, Mello," says Matt, as he, L, and Misa cluster around the video-feed for the camera just outside of Light's Sociology class. "Nice way to blow your cover, you fucking dumbass."

Misa winces at the crass language. She flicks her gaze to L, wondering if he will reprimand the teenager for his foul language, and is surprised when he doesn't.  
"This was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission," Matt continues to complain. "Now Light is just going to be that much more careful in order to avoid detection. Why does Mello have to bring it upon himself to make things so _difficult_?"

"It's kind of like what _you _did, L," Misa points out.

"And not an altogether bad plan, as it stands," L admits, as he watches the screen in front of him intently. Matt nearly drops his soda can in surprise. "Mello is trying to pressure Light into making a move by making him think he's surrounded. Generally when criminals feel as though they have been pushed in a corner, they act out. I'm actually impressed with Mello's initiative here." He reaches for another piece of cake.

"Oh," Matt says, looking a little sheepish now. "Right."


	18. give your immortality to me

**A/N: **exciting news, everyone! There might be a _Dynamism_ doujinshi coming your way, illustrated by the lovely Sakura-san :beams: now just wouldn't that be absolutely amazing? i sure freakin' think so, and let me tell you, i'm very interested in seeing her spin on it! xD i'll make sure to link it here when the first pages go up online. don't worry, you guys will be the first to know, after me of course xD eeeee!!

yay fic is almost coming to an end! i want to say there will be 21-22 chapters, but i can't be sure because that seems so impossibly soon o.o i've been pretty good about whipping out these chapters fairly quickly, although progress might be considerably hindered starting Monday... still, i'll do my best to remain deligent, and finish this ASAP! i would hate to keep you guys waiting. xD but we'll worry about these things as we come to them. for now, enjoy!!

--

i'll be your number one with a bullet

a loaded God complex, cock it and pull it

- F.O.B

**iv.**

Their dinner that evening is an informal one; nothing like the intimate, candle-lit settings Misa is used to back to at Château de Lawliet. Everyone is sitting clustered around the various computers littered about the control room, watching live video feed of Takada and Light in the brunette's bedroom. The footage is courtesy of the hidden cameras Matt had installed in the Yagami household previously in the day, while Mello and Near were getting up close and personal with their respective targets.

Misa is sitting at Matt's workstation, leaning in so she can watch the surveillance video feed on his laptop. She likes Matt the most out of the Wammy kids: he is surprisingly _normal_, and refreshing in his average-ness. Mello and Near both seem to regard her with equal amounts of distrust, after having been informed that that she is the Second Kira; Matt, on the other hand, seems to have warmed up to her after getting over his initial reluctance to unmask before her.

She asks him about himself. Little things, irrelevant things. She isn't trying to pull a fast one here, not trying to somehow unearth his identity - she knows that he's brilliant, without him having to prove it to her, and he most definitely wouldn't fall for any of her tricks. It doesn't matter anyway, because that's not her reason for asking here. She's asking because she's genuinely interested. Matt is funny and vibrant and probably the kind of boy she would have had a crush on in middle school.

He's fifteen. He loves video games. He's good with computers. He hates reading. His favorite food is pizza. He doesn't have a girlfriend. HIs best friend is Mello.

"Mello, huh? How do you feel about competing against him to become the next L?"

Matt glances sideways, stealing a look at the blonde youth. The volatile teenager is currently sharing a desk with L, thoughtfully who is chewing on the edge of his thumbnail as Mello excitedly recaps his face-to-face encounter with Light from earlier. Misa sneaks a glance too, and when her and Matt's eyes meet again the redhead makes a face.

"I'm not really interested in becoming the next L," Matt admits with a shrug. "And neither is Mello."

His answer startles Misa, who leans back, now taking in the younger male's expression more fully. "But.. Misa thought..."

"I don't want to be the next L, because quite frankly, I don't really _care_," Matt continues. "I'm only here because Mello is here, and because I was summoned. And Mello doesn't want to be L, because then _L_ wouldn't be L."

Misa's eyebrows knit in confusion. "But... he's trying to _hard_," she points out.

"To impress him? Yeah, but that's because he thinks L hung the moon." He bites his lip, "we all do."

His eyes flick to the white-haired youth on the boy, who is currently lying on his belly like a snake in the grass. The youngest Wammy prodigy is stacking little colored blocks on top of one another, his eyes occasionally glancing over at a laptop screen settled down beside him. Matt presses on, as though in afterthought: "And, well, Mello wants to show up Near too, I guess. He may not want to be the next L, but him and Near have always had this quasi-rivalry thing going on, and so I think Mello would rather become L than let Near become him in the end, if only just to rub it in Near's face."

"Does Near even _want_ to be the next L?"

"Yes. No. Maybe?" Matt gives another shrug. "You never can tell with Near."

"So what do you think of L, anyway? He told me that this was your and Near's first time meeting him."

"Well... we've _talked _to him before," Matt says. "Via the computer. But yeah, only Mello has ever had a face-to-face with him before now. I guess because Mello was B's roommate, after the whole LABB incident, he interviewed Mello in order to..." Matt's eyes went slightly wide from underneath the goggles and he abruptly shut up, apparently fearing he had said too much.

"LABB incident...?" Misa echoes, confused.

"Just forget about it," Matt says, and when Misa tries to pry more out of him, he fixes her with a steely look. "Seriously, Misa, I can't."

Misa nods in understanding, but she can't help but feel a faint stab of irritation all the same.

"...But anyway, L is great," Matt says as he gazes at the onyx-haired detective just to their right. "To be able to work with him... it's an honor. His orphanage saved me. It gave street rats like me and Mello, and people from abusive households like Near... a home. And to be under the tutelage of the greatest detective in the world, well..." He swallowed. "...We owe him a lot."

"_Kira's Kingdom_ will be on in ten minutes," L announces suddenly. "A ridiculous program as it stands, but I want us to watch it anyway. Don't forget, Sakura TV has provided the Taskforce with essential clues in the past. It eventually helped us figure out the Second Kira's identity, after all." His eyes settle on Misa's face momentarily, before quickly moving on. "Therefore, it would be a good idea to keep a look-out on the off-chance that we will learn something else valuable from them."

Everyone nods. Misa looks around the room, drinking each of the individual orphans' expressions. She sees the faces of these previously abused and neglected children, and the way they look at L (even Near, although his expressions are far more muted than the others.) She sees their rapt attention, their adoration, their complete and utter faith in their leader. Then her gaze falls upon L, and she sees someone who serves as an idol, a monument, to these children. She sees an infallible hero, a protector and a saint. She sees _justice _personified, and the sight of it moves her.

The moment is broken as Watari brings in a cart with a TV mounted upon it. He leaves it in the center of the room, angled so that they can all see it, and goes about plugging it into the nearest wall socket. Then he hands the remote to L, who immediately hits the 'on' button. The screen flickers on right as the _Kira's Kingdom _logo comes scrolling into view.

"Hello, fellow Kira followers!" The host's ugly face comes spiraling on screen, and Misa grimaces. "I am Hitori Demegawa, your host for this evening and Kira's personal spokesperson!"

"Gross," Matt complains, somehow managing to say exactly what Misa's thinking. "Since the spokesperson is basically the face of Kira right now, you'd think they'd pick someone who is a little better looking."

"Shut the fuck up, Matt," Mello snarls, on the other side of L. "We're trying to listen." Matt grabs an empty soda can from his desk and pegs it at the elder blonde. It ricochets off of the back of Mello's head and lands on the floor, and the other prodigy gives his companion such a murderous expression that it's almost comical. Just as Mello starts to rise out of his seat, however, L halts him by raising his hand.

"Mello, please sit down," he commands quietly, and Mello flushes but obeys.

"The official count of those who have suffered Kira's judgment today is 55!"

Matt chokes on his soda. "That's more than yesterday!"

"...But before we get into any further details, I'd like extend my sincerest thanks to all of you who have so generously donated to 'Kira's Kingdom'!" He flashes one of those billion-watt grins at the camera, as it shows an artist rendering of an extravagant, golden chapel. "Thanks to all of your support, our creation of 'Kira's Kingdom', which is also the name of this program, is making good progress. This chapel's construction is being supervised by myself, and is made possible by your donations starting at the million yen mark onward. Even still, we have not yet reached our goal, so please continue with your support..."

Mello and Matt exchange glances. Misa is stunned. L and Near's faces remain as impassive as always.

"A shrine?" Misa repeats, a little incredulously. "Kira is really_ is _becoming a God..."

"Hardly," Near says, returning his attention to the colorful tower he's been constructing for the past half-hour. His voice is laden with the disgust that his face will not relay. "But either way, Demegawa is a fool. Doesn't he know that greed is one of the seven deadly sins? Suggesting donations for such a garish construction would be a slight against anyone's God. It is an abomination."

"Once construction is complete, Kira will greet us here in this chapel," Demegawa continues to rhapsodize. "It's here where we, his soldiers, will protect Kira... and he, in turn, will protect us." The overweight man beams at the camera. "But enough about that... allow me now introduce you to our executive members, whom I've handpicked myself!"

The camera pans out to four men seated on thrones behind Demegawa, donned in similar, elaborately embroidered robes like the host's own. Their names are never announced, however, before the first of the four suddenly clutches his chest and falls to the floor, convulsing.

Mello and Matt leap to their feet in unison. Near gets up on his elbows. L's eyes narrow. Misa looks on, transfixed.

"...What...what's happening?" Demegawa whirls around and asks, as the other executives began to seize up and go into cardiac arrest, their faces contorted up into expressions of fear and alarm. Demegawa sees them writhing on the floor and suddenly falls to his knees before the screen. "No, No, Kira-sama, I beg of you, have mercy! I..." and suddenly his eyes go wide and horror before he, too, succumbs to a heart-attack. He falls to his side, spasms for a few moments, and then is dead. The program suddenly cuts to commercial.

The surveillance room is so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Misa looks around, and sees that everyone is just as stunned as she is.

"Quick, rewind the video footage!" L commands suddenly, and everyone jumps. "I want to see what Light was doing during this program."

Mello swivels his chair back to do that. "...Uh... apparently fucking his girlfriend..."

"...WHAT?" Misa asks, whirling around in horror. She sees the tiny figures copulating on the monitor in front of Mello and L, and grows far angrier than she ever remembers being in her entire life.

"...It doesn't make any sense..." L mumbles, chomping diligently on the edge of his mouth.

"But... they didn't show their names... so it _couldn't_ have been Light, anyway..." Matt says finally, clearly confused by the display on TV.

"No shit, Sherlock, this was obviously the second Kira's handiwork..." Mello starts, and his eyes flick to Misa, who is still seething over Light and Takada. Then a little more uncertainly, he turns to L, who remains clearly troubled. "...Right?"

L suddenly rounds on Misa and gives her a highly appraising look, as though re-evaluating her worth. And then slowly, he admits, "these murders were most definitely done by the Kira who only needs a face to kill..."

Misa leans back in her chair, arms folded across her pert breasts. "See?" she says, both defensively and defiantly, "I _told _you I wasn't the Second Kira."


	19. i want to make violent love to you

R&R.

--

Misa's skirt is bunched up around her hips as L presses her against the mattress. He's on top of her, his leg pushed up between her thighs so that he can feel her radiating heat there. Misa smirks coyly up at him, blonde hair splayed out on the covers like a golden aura.

"What is this, an interrogation?" Her tone is playful.

"Maybe." And L kisses her, his tongue sliding past her defenses and tasting the insides of her mouth. His kisses are passionate and skillful, and by the end of it Misa's face is flushed, her skin becoming slightly dewy with sweat. They stare at each other in the darkness, and Misa struggles feebly beneath his vice-like hold on her wrists.

"Did you kill those men?"

The sincerity of his question actually startles a laugh out of Misa. "W-what?"  
"Answer the question, Misa-san." He buries his head against the curve of her shoulder, breathing in the scent of her shampoo as he traces his tongue along the pale flesh of her neck up to the shell of her ear. Misa shudders and chokes out:

"...N...no!"

"Are you lying to me?" He lifts his head to watch her intently, searching the lines of her face, trying to find any indication of a lie. Misa continues to stare up at him, wide-eyed and startled.

"N-no." She looks beyond him, making out the dark shape of a camera in the far reaches of the room. An indicator light flashes red in its top left corner. "L... the others can't _see_ into this room, can they?" she asks fearfully.

"I've cut off access to here for tonight," he informs her shortly. He leans in close again, their noses almost brushing, and if it weren't for the darkness shrouding everything in shadow, she could probably see every pore on his face. "Let's lose the pretenses here, Misa. I want us to be honest with each other."

"Is that why you're dropping the honorific?" she asks, sweetly. L's teeth graze her bottom lip, and despite herself, Misa moans.

"You think you can use some kind of perverse torture to get a confession out of Misa?"

"If that's what it takes," he says, as one hand deftly slips under her top and bra. His hands are cold, and she stifles a gasp as her nipples gather and stiffen at his touch. More heat pools at her center, and Misa's brows furrow as she writhes.

"But there's nothing to _confess_," Misa claims breathlessly.

"You're a liar." He gathers both of her wrists in one of his own, pinning them above her head, and uses his free hand to yank her shirt and her bra up above her breasts, exposing them to the night air. He leans down and presses his mouth against her collarbone, dragging his tongue down and over the curve of her left breast. Misa moans as his teeth gently rake over her erect nipple. "What's more," he murmurs into her warm, goose-flesh covered skin, "you're a pathological liar, a degenerate sociopath who manipulates others in order to achieve her own ends. You're clever at disarming people, clever with your charms, clever in your deception. And you have learned these things at God's knees, have molded them and warped them to make them your own, in better to suit your own purposes, the higher purpose that is Kira's will. You can fool the others, but you can't fool me. I have spent years profiling people like you, and I know, without a doubt, that you are the second Kira."

Misa's breath hitches. L's fingers are at the hem of her panties.

"I'm..." she half-whispers, half-gasps, her face hot and slick with sweat. Panic is beginning to seep into her voice. "...I'm... not..."

"I don't know how you did it tonight," L interrupts smoothly, and Misa lifts her hips so that he can gently slide her undergarments down over the lengths of her pale thighs. "But I'm patient. And you will tell me in the end, Misa Amane." One-handedly, he begins to undo the front of his jeans, wiggling his hips slightly so that they slide down to his ankles. Then he kicks them off onto the floor.

"L..." she moans, her eyes alight with hunger. Strangely, the fear works as a rather potent aphrodisiac: the blonde idol has never been so turned on in her life. L pulls down his own underwear and settles down betwixt her parted thighs, and Misa knows that everything she's worked so hard to accomplish is coming unraveled at the seams.

"How much longer can we maintain this charade?" L asks, and suddenly Misa realizes how much larger and stronger he is than her, with his lean muscles and his wiry body. "You can pretend you have Stockholm Syndrome here but we both know that the reality of the situation is that there's no love lost between us. This has been a game ever since the beginning."

"But that's where you're _wrong_," Misa blurts out, and she's not sure what prompts her to say it, but she means it, means it with the entirety of her being and she wants him to know that she means it. In saying it she has made it a reality, and the sudden weight of it comes crushing over like a tidal wave, sweeping her up in the current and she is _lost_.

The first thing she thinks of is the orphans, and how they've humanized L; and then she thinks of the first time she fucked L, and how she sat in the bathroom and cried afterward; and then she thinks of L when he watched her while she was in handcuffs, and how he told her was_ fond _of her; and she thinks of him when they strolled through the garden and she thinks of his strawberry shampoo and his weird little smiles and the way he wrapped himself around her and laid with her, and how it was the first time she ever recalled him sleeping.

The last thing she thinks of is Light, her bright and golden God; she thinks of his roaming hands right now, the way he made Takada moan in the video. Even in his betrayal she still loves him, and the image of him in her mind stirs up strange, confused feelings of attraction and spite and reverence and hurt. How is that she can love two people at the same time, with such violently opposing viewpoints; how can she love Light still, when he's so grievously wronged her? Or really, how is that she can love _L_ at all, with his stupid hair and his sleepless eyes and his pasty complexion and gangly limbs and his big scary super brain? He is everything Light is not; he is the anti-Light - he is the dark and he has drawn her into the opaque recesses of his shadows, tainted her and made her love him. And somehow, that's okay, at least in this moment.

"I love you," she says, as L pushes his way inside.

"You love Light more," he challenges, and she's not sure what shocks her more: the fact that he is unsurprised by her earnest revelation to him, or the fact that he does not question its validity. It's as though he knew before _she_ knew, so self-assured in his ability to be loved.

Still, it is not a claim she cannot rebuke, because she knows he's right.

"I don't fault you," he whispers. "It's hard to compete with God."

Their coupling is frenzied, frantic. L releases his hold on her wrists and Misa clings to him as his hips work against her own. She is slick with perspiration, and so he is; and when she kisses his lips she can taste his sweat there, salty and slightly sweet from left-over sugar from earlier. Her nails make little half-crescent moon indentations in his skin, and his hand grips her breast so hard there will be bruises tomorrow.

They watch one another with clouded gazes, and Misa doesn't close her eyes until she comes, gasping and arching so high her back lifts straight off of the bed. L follows shortly thereafter, but he scarcely makes a noise - he never does. He collapses against Misa once he empties inside of her, cushioning the blow slightly by extending his elbows. The room then falls silent except for the sound of their ragged pants as they try to regain their breathing.

She wonders if this all going to come crashing down around her later. But for now, all that there is is _this_. "I meant it, L," she says, and it comes out like a whimper. "I really did."

He rolls off of her. He doesn't say anything as he cracks his neck and reaches for his clothes.

"...L. What... what was this?"

"A botched attempt at getting a confession out of you," L offers, pulling on his jeans. Misa's face scrunches up.

"Is that what this has always been to you? A game of cat and mouse?" she asks fearfully.

There is a pause. "Maybe," he admits finally.

"Then... what... Misa... she's so confused..." L frowns at that, getting to his feet.

"Misa, you _use_ people. You use them all the time. So why is so hard for you to comprehend that maybe I'm using you too?" Misa winces and recoils as if struck; she's surprised at the way his words _sting_, surprised by the fact that she might actually care. She blinks back what may actually be tears, and L suddenly cuts in:

"Misa, please don't. We can't do this. It's not going to work, okay? It's not going to _work_." His eyes are slightly wider than usual, and Misa isn't sure who he's trying to convince: Misa or himself. He shakes his shaggy head and mutters, "I have some work I need to", before shuffling out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

L avoids her for three straight days.

--

"Well, looks like Mello just pulled a gun on Light in an alleyway," Matt says with a groan on the fourth day, just as Misa walks into the room. "He's at the police station right now."

"Wait, what?! Why?" Misa yelps, and she runs over to where they are sitting at L's workstation. "Is Light alright?"  
"I've already dispatched Watari to take care of the problem," L tells Matt, very pointedly ignoring Misa as she stands behind him. "Mello's tactics are a little... unorthodox, but I suppose he's getting impatient by this point, as we all are." He reaches for a tin of sugar cookies beside them, eyes never wavering from the screen.

"And how does that justify trying to kill _my_ Light?" Misa demands hotly, and when L doesn't immediately respond, Matt glances up at her and then L. Then he smiles apologetically and gives a little half-hearted shrug.

"Will Watari be able to bail Mello out?"

"Yes, but the status of our recon mission will surely be compromised. No doubt Chief Yagami is now aware of L's presence in Tokyo. I expect to get a few nasty phone-calls from him later." He frowns and rummages in his back pocket, producing a cell-phone and setting it down on the table. "He may even come to Task Force Headquarters. He'll be most upset about the incident between Mello and his son."

"He really believes his son is innocent?" Matt asks, yanking his goggles up and setting them on his forehead. The redhead's eyes were wide. "But from the case files you showed us, it seems so _obvious_. Especially if Amane really is the Second Kira." He steals a furtive glance at her and stamers, "w-which of course she _isn't_, because no girl that pretty is capable of murder."

"You don't really believe that."

"L, she's _right_ _behind you_."

L doesn't even bat an eye. "Still, as I was saying, Mello's methods were a little crude, but not a bad attempt, overall. I assume in threatening to kill Light, Mello hoped he would use the Death Note and try to kill him in turn?" Matt shrugs and nods. "Thus providing us with concrete evidence in which to convict Light with. A pity it didn't work."

Misa actually laughs at that. L finally turns to acknowledge her, and both he and Matt stare. She smiles and covers her mouth. "Oh, sorry. It's just that Misa really doubts that Light thought Mello would _kill_ him. Not with you working his strings in the background, L with your "great justice" and all. I bet he saw right through _that_ one." Matt blinks at her, but L remains impassive as always. Misa giggles again. "And it doesn't really matter anyway, since he certainly wasn't going to whip out the Death Note _right there_. He doesn't even know Mello's real name, so what could he do? We already knew he doesn't have the ability to kill with just a face. Mello's little attempt has only succeeded in getting himself in trouble and letting the others know, loud and clear, that L is back from your little vacation. Mello actually really messed up here. Badly."

And with that, he starts to walk away. Before she can reach the door, however, L's voice floats up after her.

"Amane, sit down."

"Oh, so we're back to 'Amane' again?" she asks, all sunshine and rainbows as she glides back over to where they are sitting. Matt keeps glancing between her and L apprehensively. The detective seems coolly detached, whereas Misa is clearly simmering beneath the smiling facade. She takes a seat next to the sleepless detective, pulling invisible lint off of the sleeves of her jacket as she does so.

"So what should we do, L? We're running out of options here," Matt says a few minutes later, when it becomes plainly evident that no one else is going to speak. "Do you want me to hire a team to ransack their places, and try to unearth some kind of evidence to convict them?"  
"Let's put Wedy on the next flight to Japan," L tells Matt, and the redheaded youth nods and gets up to do exactly that. "We'll have her do it." The younger boy grabs a stack of manila folders next to him and immediately makes a beeline for the exit. The doors swish open before him, allowing him admittance into one of the rooms beyond, and then he is gone.

L is watching Misa now, who is still wearing her plastic smile from earlier.

"Misa's favorite person," she says, and her eyes are cold. "Wedy."

"Jealous, are we?" L asks, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He drops a few sugar cubes in, stirs it with a spoon, and reaches for another cookie from the tin just to Misa's left.

"Misa's not _jealous_," Misa lies, with a false, tinkling laugh. "She just thinks Wedy is a bitch."

L's cookie is posed just above his coffee cup, held delicately up with his thumb and index finger. "So, tell me Amane," he says, very seriously, "how does it feel to be replaced? Light-kun sure moved on pretty quickly, didn't he?"

"I think _Ryuuzaki-san_ is the one who is jealous," Misa says in a sing-song voice, fluttering her eyelashes at him as L takes a bite out of his cookie. "Because Light is so much better than him."

"Why? Because he's been clever enough to avoid being incarcerated so far? By insinuating this, are you admitting to me he's Kira?" He finishes off the remaining half of the sugar-coated sweet and licks his fingers.

"No." She smiles at him. "I actually think he's innocent. How else could he have managed to evade you so skillfully this whole time? Maybe the reason you can't pin him with the blame is because Light _really isn't Kira_. I know that the mere suggestion probably blows your mind, L," Misa says, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "but maybe that's really what it is. I mean, the profile you've established for Kira doesn't work _just_ for Light. He was first person you found that it applied to.

"And Misa thinks," the blonde says, inserting her own thumb between her teeth in a parody of the detective's earlier mannerisms, "that L wont let up on this whole Light-is-Kira nonsense because he _wants_ Light to be Kira. Because Light is just so wonderful, so utterly perfect, and that _bothers_ L. Light has everything going for him: he is handsome, he is smart, he is young and charming and engaging and witty and charismatic. And L doesn't want to believe that. He wants to wreck that, to bring Light down to his level, so make him more human. He wants someone who is flawed, someone who is fallible and imperfect, and surely being a serial mass murderer with a God-complex falls under that category."

L nods faintly, as he listens to her. When she finishes, he seems to consider her words, and then says, "but that's where you're wrong."

She blinks. "What do you mean?"

"Because Light-kun isn't very smart at all."

Misa laughs in disbelief. "W-what?"

"If he was," L continues, leaning in as his voice drops down to a conspiratorial whisper. "He wouldn't have let Misa-san go without a fight. You're mine, Amane." Their gazes lock, and suddenly both of them are out of their chairs at the same time. Their mouths crush together with bruising force and L shoves her backwards into the desk behind them. Misa's hand lashes out as he unzips the front of her jacket and lifts up her skirt, sweeping away papers and cookie tins and -

"Watch the coffee!" L warns, and Misa pauses as she watches him grab the pot and cup. Then he very gently carries it over to the other side of the room, setting it down on a table. She's laughing from her prone position on the desk as he slouches back over to her..

"What?" he asks her, staring at her with those inquisitive, wide eyes.

"I think you just ruined the moment, L," she says, still giggling.

L looks quizzical for a moment, and then he laughs too, he actually _laughs_ and Misa is so shocked that she almost falls off of the table. It is an awkward, but strangely musical sound. She adores it.

He leans down and kisses her again. As Misa's hands blindly reach up to undo the front of his pants, he murmurs against her lips. "This is wrong."

"Misa is honestly beyond caring at this point," Misa whispers back.


	20. you're just a twist in my sobriety

**HAY GUYS! **Did you know that there is a _Dynamism_ doujinshi in the works? Illustrated by the lovely Sakura-san? Well, if you didn't before, now you do! Coming soon to a webpage near you! xD I'll make sure to post a link here when Sakura e-mails me some scans... omgomgomgomg :hyperventilates:

R&R

--

Mello is actually crying with frustration when Watari brings him in.

"I thought for sure I _had_ him," the blonde says through clenched teeth, as he throws himself backwards into the nearest chair. "How the fuck does he do it? _Where is he hiding it_?" He slams his fist into his desk with such ferocity that Misa actually takes a step backwards, half-fearing for her safety.

_What is with guy_? Misa thinks, as she watches him seize two fistfuls of his own hair and _pull_. The overly dramatic display makes Mello appear suddenly quite deranged, his expression wild and beastly beneath the florescent lighting of the surveillance room. _For a little kid, he sure is scary._

Matt goes over to say something comforting to the elder boy. Mello looks up, dragging the back of his arm across his tear-streaked face as the redheaded boy puts a hand on his shoulder. The two talk in quiet, hushed murmurs, and Misa looks to L, balanced on his perch beside her at his desk. As if on cue, his cell-phone begins vibrating on the table before them, but L makes no move to answer it.

Misa can't help but be curious; her fingers are itching to reach out and answer it for him. "You aren't going to…?" she asks, hopefully.

"I'm ninety-five percent sure I already know who it is," L tells her, "and one hundred percent sure that I don't want to talk to them right now." He looks over Misa's head at Mello, who finally seems to have regained his composure.

"Mello," L addresses the youth, and Mello inclines his head in surprise. "You've done well."

Misa doesn't think Mello did very well at all, but she keeps her mouth shut, as it isn't her personal opinion being voiced here. And although L's voice is neither gentle nor soothing, the blonde practically glows with pride.

"You think so, L?"

"Yes." But from Misa's point of view, it's hard to see whether L really _does_ think this, or that the reassurance is simply empty words. Perhaps he is testing Mello here, or perhaps he is only saying it to get back at Misa for her biting words regarding the matter earlier. She has no way of knowing for certain.

"L!" Matt shouts suddenly, pointing at his computer monitor dramatically. "Check out who just stepped into the lobby!"

"Put him up on the main screen," L commands, before Misa is even able to see who it is. Then the enormous screen in the farthest reach of the room flickers to life, and Light Yagami's disgruntled face appears. He is mouthing something angrily up at the main camera in the lobby downstairs, and Misa can see every crease in his furrowed eyebrows as he stares hatefully up into the lens, gesturing wildly as he enunciates his soundless words.

"Volume," L says tersely, and suddenly the brunette's icy tone comes tumbling through the speakers mounted on the walls:

"--know that you're behind all this, Ryuuzaki! I want a word with you."

"So utterly predictable," L says, looking almost disappointed. "I knew he would come barging in here. Although admittedly, I expected him to bring his father as well..." He lapses into silence while the younger boy continues to rant and rave on screen. Misa sneaks a glance at Mello, who is clutching the desk in front of him so hard that his knuckles have gone white.

"Ryuuzaki," chimes in Watari's voice, drowning out the flow of Light's angry banter. "What shall I do about our... guest?"

L watches dispassionately as Light continues to gesticulate up into the camera. "Show him in," he says, as Mello and Matt reel around in their chars to stare at their mentor in surprise. Misa, too, turns to him in bewilderment.

"As you wish." Watari's line goes dead, presumably to get the door and send Light up.

L's eyes hone in on Mello. He frowns. "Mello, please leave the room."

"What!" the orphan explodes in protest, clearly outraged. "But why?"

"Yeah, c'mon L!" Matt pipes up next to the elder boy. "Light already knows Mel's operating under you. So what's the point?"

"I don't want to create a hostile environment," L says simply. Matt looks as though he's about to say something further, but Mello simply silences him with a shake of his head. Mello then pushes off and away from his desk, rising out of his chair with more noise than what's strictly necessary. He fixes Misa with a filthy look as he stomps past, as though this is all somehow _her _fault. The doors open behind her with a faint 'fwoosh', and then Mello's gone.

There is an awkward silence in the wake of his absence. Matt drums his fingers along the edge of the table, his eyes darting from the computer screen in front of him to the door, and then back again. He doesn't seem to know what to do with himself, and his obvious apprehension for what's surely coming next is infectious, and suddenly Misa is nervous too.

"Ryuuzaki," she asks, chewing on her bottom lip. "Should Misa be he--?"

"You're fine," L says, cutting her off. He places one foot on the floor and uses it to swivel his computer chair around so that he's now facing the entrance. Then he resumes his crouched position, posed precariously along the edge of his seat like some strange gargoylean figure. Misa hears footsteps in the hall just outside of the surveillance room, and her pulse begins to race.

Then the doors gently slide open, and in comes Light Yagami, just as golden and as radiant as ever, even with his tussled hair and aggravated expression. Light glares at L before sweeping his gaze about the room, absorbing his surroundings - they flick to Matt first, but then he catches sight of Misa standing off to the side, and he blinks in surprise.

"Misa?" he asks, and Misa freezes.

"So nice to see you again, Light-kun," L says, but Light ignores him, his gaze remaining trained upon the Japanese idol as he comes forward.

"Misa?" he says again, louder this time. He stops in the middle of the room, as if waiting for her to close the distance between them herself. Misa starts to come forward, but not before glancing at L a little uncertainly. Her hesitation is not lost on Light, and he frowns.

"_Misa_." He whirls on L accusingly. "What the hell have you done? Have you been brainwashing her or something?"

"Perhaps the reason why Misa-san isn't welcoming you with open arms is because of a woman named Kiyomi Takada," L says simply, and Light actually goes a little pink in the face.

"Well, I _did_ wake up to you guys fucking in the same bed as me," Light reminds them blackly, and now it's Misa's turn to blush. ("Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Matt cries in the background. "TMI, dude!") "And after you just upped and left after declaring the Kira case closed, and then _Misa_ wound up mysteriously missing as well, what was I _supposed_ to think? Naturally I tried to move on. I was humiliated!" He shook his head, some of his bangs falling into his eyes as he did so. "Of course, once Kira started killing again, I began to have second doubts..."

"You're a terrible liar, Light-kun," L observes.

Light glowers indignantly at him. "Whatever, Ryuuzaki," he all but spits at the elder man. "I'm tired of your bullshit. And you really ought to get yourself a new bag of tricks. That's_ twice _I've had a gun pulled on me now, in hopes that I would somehow reveal that I am Kira."

"Ah, but the first time we did not know Kira's method of killing," L interjects. "And since all of your things had been confiscated upon your incarceration and had not yet been returned to you, there was no feasible way you _could_ have killed Chief Yagami. But perhaps just a few short hours ago, you _could_ have killed Mello."

"First of all, _fuck you_, Ryuuzaki, for insinuating I'm the kind of person that would be _okay _with killing his own dad," Light says venomously, his fists clenched at his sides. "And secondly, what the hell do you think I've been doing all this time, carrying a Death Note around in my backpack and killing people between classes? Since I _know_ you've had your little protégés or whatever - " he glares in Matt's direction as he snarls this, before returning his wrath to L, "- tailing me on campus, as Mello has already so kindly informed me. So that _must_ be where you think I'm committing this insidious acts."

"You or Kiyomi Takada," L affirms. Light gapes at him. "That's correct."

"Takada...?" Light repeats incredulously.

"...Is also under strict surveillance, yes," L nods sagely.

"Ryuuzaki, I don't know how many times I have to tell you, but I'm _not _Kira. Why haven't you re-opened the case and re-instated the Task Force members since the murders began happening again? We all want to bring Kira to justice, not just you. We want to _help_."

"To be perfectly honest, I originally disbanded the Taskforce because I deemed them incompetent and unreliable," L states baldly. Light flinches, starts to make a rebuttal and then abandons it, probably knowing it was pointless to argue anyway.

"Well, _I'm_ not incompetent," he points out.

"No," L admits thoughtfully, chewing on the edge of his thumb. "No, you're far too clever for your own good, Light Yagami."

"Ryuuzaki!" Light says, half-pleading now. "Please. I want to clear my name! Isn't there anything I could do? You can lock me up again, or handcuff us together again, or _whatever_. Please, just tell me what I can do to prove my innocence to you!"

"As I've told you before," L says, not swayed in the slightest by Light's passionate vehemence. "It would be nonsense to accept such a proposal from the person who is under suspicion. If you truly are innocent, the truth will become apparent over time." He points to Misa. "If you must know, my suspicion of Misa being the Second Kira has decreased substantially since the unnamed executives on Sakura TV were killed during the _Kira's Kingdom_ program."

Misa recoils in surprise. "R-really?"

L glances over at the blonde. _No_, his eyes clearly state. But what he says is: "Yes.

"...I have always operated under the assumption that only the Second Kira can kill with just a face. This is why I brought Misa Amane in for a second time - since Higuichi's murder, I have deduced that there is at least one another Death Note floating around. Bearing that in mind, I'm sure you can understand my trepidation concerning the thought of Amane out wandering around in the world, completely unsupervised. The fact that heart-attacks have resumed proves my second Death Note theory, but it certainly puts Misa in the grey when concerning her suspicion. And as the days pass us by and I still have yet to unearth any hard evidence to confirm that you, Light-kun, are in fact Kira, you are slowly moving into that 'grey' area as well. Eventually, if you and Ms. Amane really _are_ proven to be innocent and the murders persist, I will be forced to admit I _was_ wrong, and the two of you will no longer be under suspicion. Then Ms. Amane will be removed from my custody, and the two of you, and Ms. Takada, will no longer be under surveillance."

"So you're not going to let me help you with the case until you've proved my innocence?"

"That is correct."

"And you're going to keep Misa away from me until then, in fear that we might be co-conspirators?"

"That is also correct."

"That's ridiculous," Light says, with a shake of his head. "But I suppose I don't have much say in the matter."

"No," L agrees simply. "I suppose you don't."

Light sighs dejectedly. "I can only hope that you can really let go of this, L, when the time comes. I hope we don't simply go in circles like we are now, forever."

"Light-kun, believe me when I say," L murmurs, "that is my sincerest wish as well."

Light is wearing a highly skeptical look, as though he is inclined to disagree. Still, he abandons his attempt in trying to sway L's convictions, knowing any of his efforts would be undoubtedly futile. "Well, then," he says, shoving his hands into his front pockets. "I guess... I'll be going then." He turns to the blonde idol just beside L, and their gazes meet, and the female pauses. "Goodbye, Misa."

Staring into the endless hazel depths that serve as Light's eyes, Misa feels like she's coming home. Suddenly something gives within her, and the blonde surges forward.

"Light!"

Light wraps his arms around her, crumpling her against his chest as she throws herself against him. Misa clings to him, her anchor, her unmovable rock, her _salvation_. She feels her eyes begin to fill with tears as he holds her in his arm, familiar embrace. _Lightlightlight..._

"I-I've missed you," she chokes.

"Shhh," Light soothes, smoothing out her hair with one of his hands. "It's okay, Misa. We'll be together soon again, I promise..." He cradles her against his chest for quite some time, whispering promises into her ears. Misa whimpers and nods, burrowing deeper into him, breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne, nestling her face against the soft wool of his sweater.

"I love you, Light," she whispers.

"I love you too, Misa," Light says thickly, and his voice is louder than hers, clearer.

"Light-kun," L's voice interrupts suddenly, and Misa is so startled by the sound that she actually jumps backwards and away from him. She had completely forgotten about L before now, and whirls around to face him in a flurry of movement. The genius shows no sign of being affected either way by Misa and Light's passionate embrace or their exchange of sweet-nothings, but his tone is different now, more business-like. "I have much work to do, so if you'll please excuse yourself from the premises..."

"Of course." Light nods, his mouth a grim line. His eyes search the detective's face the same way Misa's did, and she knows immediately that Light is also trying to find any trace of jealousy, however faint. "I guess... I'll be hearing from you, then?"

"We will keep in touch," L agrees, and the brunette leaves.

Once the doors slide shut behind him, L's expression suddenly clouds over and he gets to his feet, gathering up a stack of papers on his desk and tucking them into his armpit as he does so. "Matt, you may contact Mello and tell him that it's okay to come back upstairs."

"Okay. But where are you...?"

"I'm going up onto the deck for some fresh air," the detective says curtly, not even deigning Misa a glance as he slouches past. "Amane, you are confined to your quarters until further notice. Matt, make sure you see to it that she obliges." He disappears past the doors into the hallways beyond, and once he it outside of hearing range, the redhead emits a low whistle.

"Wow."

"Do you think he's jealous?" Misa asks mildly, as the two exchange grimaces.

Matt laughs hollowly. "Oh, I don't know. What do _you_ think?"

--

_For a little kid, he sure is scary. _A deliberate reference to Sidoh's observation of Mello in the anime/manga.

_That's _twice_ I've had a gun pulled on me now._ Referring to the "fake execution" L set up during the Yotsuba arc, in which Chief Yagami shot a blank at Light in order to prove his innocence. I actually completely forgot about this part in the anime/manga up until I had Light said it. Boy, I'm not very original, am I? -.-;;

_"I don't know. What do _you _think?" _Matt may seem a little buddy-buddy with Misa despite the fact that she is supposed to be the Second Kira, and I want to reassure you all that yes, that is entirely intentional. We don't get to see much of Matt throughout _Death Note_, but from what we do see he's pretty indifferent to... well, _everything_. The fact that Misa is pretty doesn't hurt either, and that's why he seems so... casual, even flippant, around her.


	21. and i feel it like a sickness, this love

L's revenge goes by the alias of Wedy, and Misa _hates_ her.

Misa knows that having Wedy in such annoyingly close proximity, all day, _every_ day, for remainder of the week, is a deliberate move on L's part. He tells Misa that it's only because Wedy is still waiting for the prime opportunity in which to infiltrate the Yagami and Takada households, but Misa knows better. L is punishing her, and he goes about this by forcing Misa to endure the company of her least favorite person in the whole wide world. (Actually, that title had originally belonged to Aiber, but Wedy had overtaken him when she decided to romantically pursue L upon their reunion some four days prior.) Misa would have never pegged L as the jealous type; she might have been amused by L's strategic counter-offensive if it weren't for the fact that she was so unspeakably _angry_. Watching Wedy openly flirt with L right in front of her face - the _nerve_ of her! - was enough to make Misa's fingers ache for a pen and a Death Note for the first time in months.

"_Look_ at her," Misa scowls, as she watches Wedy lean over L as he clicks away at his computer screen. Misa's former kidnapper is bent so low that her generous bust-line is almost touching L's shoulder, and the sheer obviousness of her advances makes Misa want to scream.

"Oh, I'm looking all right," Matt says, with a touch of awe as he leers at her leather-clad backside.

"_Matt_." She punches him in the shoulder, forcibly ejecting the redhead from his midday fantasies. At least he has the decency to look sheepish as he rubs the place where she hit him.

"S-sorry! I mean..." He wracks his brain for the proper response. "...She's such a _cunt_."

"MATT!" Misa admonishes, wincing at the sound of the awful word.

"Christ woman!" Matt cries, exasperated now. "What do you want from me?"

--

It's on Sunday evening, when Wedy announces that she and L are going out for a drink, that it all becomes too much.

"_Where_ are you going?" Misa asks, grabbing L by the shoulder before he can follow Wedy out into the hall.

"To a bar, I would imagine," L informs her, regarding her with wide-eyed innocence.

"You don't even drink!" Misa protests shrilly.

"Which does not mean I can't enjoy Wedy's company while _she_ does," L rebukes.

"You... you _can't_ be serious. You can't be bar-hopping with your employees! It's... unethical! Bad for business!"

L looks as though he may actually burst out laughing, if that was the sort of thing L _did_. Instead, he simply _looks_ at her, and Misa knows that she's being irrational and overdramatic but she doesn't care. She's so caught up in her jealousy that she can barely see straight, jabbing her finger accusingly in his face as she reprimands him for his poor conduct.

"Misa," he says quietly, "please stop that. You'll poke my eye out."

She wrenches her arm down to her side. "You really ought to cut this out!" she says scathingly, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "You're being _really_ childish, you know."

"Misa, if you haven't already noticed," L says reasonably. "I _am_ childish." And he makes a move for the exit, but not before Misa lashes out and yanks him forcibly back into the room.

"No," she says firmly.

"No?" he echoes curiously, almost as though he doesn't understand.

"That's right. Misa says _no_." And then, recalling one of their earlier encounters, Misa continues in a malevolent hiss: "you're _mine_, L." Her lips possessively capture his own as she steers him backwards into the nearest wall. There is a brief struggle for dominance as the two of them try to jockey for the dominant position. But Misa wins out this time, pulling him forward and them slamming him back against the plaster again for good measure.

Someone clears his throat from behind them, and the two lovers momentarily break apart to glance back at the three remaining occupants in the room. Mello and Matt are watching Misa and L with awe-struck expressions as their jaws metaphorically touch the floor. Even Near, who is usually so unimpressed with _everything_, has paused in tarot-card reading to regard them intently. For a moment, no one can seem to find the courage to speak.

"Uh..." Matt finally says intelligently. "Should we uh, maybe, go?"

Misa and L exchange glances. "Yes," L answers for her. "Yes, that would probably be advisable at this point."

"R-right." The boys gather up their things and immediately scramble for the exit.

--

It's on Monday morning, when Light is in class, that Wedy gets her window of opportunity and sets out for the Yagami household. Mello and Near are at their respective posts within the confines of To-Oh university, and Matt has been sent off to do an errand with Watari, and so Taskforce Headquarters is completely barren save for L and herself. The two of them currently occupy the surveillance room, per usual, and L has Light's face pulled up on the main screen in the background, courtesy of one of the hidden cameras the brunette's Philosophy classroom.

"So how long will Wedy be gone?" Misa asks, as L stares blankly at Light. The younger boy is currently staring out of the window as his teacher lectures, apparently bored.

"She needs at least a few hours to completely take apart Light's room, and then put it back together again," L says slowly, his eyes never wavering from the picture in front of them "Then she'll have to do the same for Takada's apartment, as well. So I don't expect her to return until late this afternoon, at the very least."

"And what happens if she doesn't _find_ anything?"

L doesn't answer immediately, and when he does, his response is decidedly evasive. "Let's worry about those hurdles as we reach them, shall we?"

"Confident, are we?" Misa sneers, and L says nothing. Misa follows L's gaze to the screen in front of her, taking a moment to appreciate the brunette's attractive profile. She feels a pang of familiar heart-ache at the sight of him, overpowering love mixed with intense longing.

Afterwards, Misa can't help but return her gaze to her companion beside her, taking in _his_ form as well and then contrasting it with Light's. So different, so utterly incomparable. And yet, here stood the only rival for Misa's affections, and it came in the embodiment of Light's polar opposite.

_We've come a long way, haven't we, L? _Misa reminiscences fondly, covering his palm gently with her own. L blinks down at their shared contact, and then looks up at Misa in bewilderment.

"What?" she asks shyly. "Misa can't hold your hand?"

"How can you do this?" L asks slowly, and at first, Misa doesn't understand. "How can you bounce back and forth between us like you do?"

"I-I don't know," she stammers truthfully, just as at a loss as he is.

--

Of course, Wedy's extensive search of Light and Takada's households turn up absolutely nothing. Light has thoroughly covered his tracks, Misa knows, and now L has exhausted all of his possible leads. The investigation grinds to a complete halt, but still the detective refuses give up. The next two weeks prove are wrought with fruitless endeavors, as L repeatedly reviews video footage and the children continue their surveillance of Light and Takada. They never do happen across any hard evidence to completely confirm the onyx-haired sleuth's suspicions, and by the end of February the orphans begin to despair.

Misa, on the other hand, grows simply radiant as the days go whipping past. _Light's done it_, she thinks happily. _We're safe._

--

"Taking a break?" Misa asks him one evening, as she steps out on the deck where L is currently residing, hands settled on the railing before him as he looks out over the cityscape. The elder man seems caught up in his own little world as he stares vacantly ahead, and does not immediately greet her as she draws near.

Misa rests her hand gently on his shoulder. "L," she says quietly. "Is it okay for Misa to be up here with you? Or would you rather be alone?"

"No, it's fine," L says, breaking free from his trance and turning away from the sunset to look at her. "I was just… thinking."

"About what?"

She isn't sure he's going to answer her, but he eventually does. L's expression is grim as clears his throat. "I want to talk to you about something, Misa-san."

Misa's insides knot up uncomfortably with this announcement, and she wonders what sort of devastating blow he's about to deliver as she patiently waits for him to elaborate. "Our relationship, if you could call it that, has certainly been… unconventional, hasn't it?" L offers.

"Yeah," she agrees, her mouth dry. "It has."

"Did you mean it?" he asks her unexpectedly. "When you told me you loved me?"

This was the last thing she anticipated for him to say, and the sudden change in direction leaves her muddled and confused. "What?" she asks, and L bows his head, appearing almost bashful.

"I understand that people sometimes say strange things in the heat of the moment," he tells her quietly. "Things they would later take back."

"No, I meant it," Misa tells him, and the blonde briefly wonders if reassuring him this might somehow save her. _He couldn't have found something… could he? _

"Oh."

_Light… he couldn't have slipped up somewhere, right? He's always been so careful in the past…_

They stand there quietly for a few tense moments, Misa feeling awkward and uncomfortable. "You said you had something you wanted to talk about…?" she guided wearily, still convinced that the worst was yet to come, and that this topic was just a deviation from the actual matter at hand.

"So you love me," L says, deliberately ignoring her as he seems to mull this concept over in his head. "Why?"

"Why?" she repeats, and L nods. "Because…" she frowns thoughtfully at him, unsure how to proceed at first. "Because you're… you." She makes a face at herself.

"No. Please, don't be embarrassed. I honestly want to know."

"Why?" She asks blankly. "Do you think you're unlovable or something?"

"Not at all," L tells her seriously. "Quite the contrary, actually. I just wanted to get a little… perspective. So please, go on."

"O-okay." Her eyebrows furrow, and then she simply lets the first things that come to mind tumble out of her mouth. "Because… I don't know… you're just so different, I guess, so… completely unlike anyone else I've met. You're like a walking contradiction. But… not in a bad way, I mean… well… I don't know." She waves one hand vaguely in front of her, as though trying to physically pluck the words out of the air and somehow mold them into coherent sentences.

"It's like this: on one hand, you're this super-detective, and you have this really big brain and stuff but at the same time, you're… really weird and socially awkward." She smiles apologetically at him, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, but L simply waves her on. "And you're like, mega-loaded and you flaunt it with your ridiculous house that's way too big for you. And yet… you dress like a homeless person. Well, okay, not _homeless_, but you certainly don't invest much of that money into your _looks_. You don't even brush your hair! I just don't understand why you blow money on things no one ever sees, and things you don't really have the time to properly enjoy."

Misa shakes her head ruefully. "_Then_, you remain completely convinced that I am the Second Kira, and yet that doesn't keep you from treating me… like a lady, I guess. I mean, most of the time you're really respectful and gentlemanly." She frowns. "Meanwhile, everyone _else_ has always talked down to me, like I'm some kind of dumb blonde. But you were the first person to ever speak normally with me, to treat me like an _equal_. You think I've somehow come up with this elaborate hoax to hide the fact that I'm really this supernatural mass murderer… the fact that you even think I'm capable of such a thing is astounding in itself, and kind of flattering in a bizarre, _really weird way_, since everyone else thinks I'm just this big ditzy air-head, this star-studded, spectacular, glittery fuck-up. You… you've always given me so much credit," she tells him earnestly, her eyes shining as she looks up at him. "You make me out to be so articulate, so clever. You… you make me feel like I'm so much more than I really _am_."

Something hot runs down the front of her cheek, and belatedly, Misa realizes it's the first trickle of tears. "M-Misa's sorry," she stutters, and spontaneity of her outburst bringing her crashing back to third-person. "She doesn't know where that came from."

She lifts her hand to brush it away but L does it for her first, his thumb coming up and smearing the hot wetness free from her cheeks.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this at first," she admits quietly. "Misa really was just using you in the beginning. And then somewhere along the way, it changed, and now Misa doesn't know what to do anymore." Her breathing starts to become more erratic, her little chest heaving as she tries to bite back the sobs that threaten to consume her.

"Misa," L says gently, concernedly. "Please don't cry. You don't have to tell me anymore."

She nods mutely, biting down on her lower lip so hard she can taste coppery blood.

"Starting tomorrow, you, Light, and Takada will no longer be under suspicion of being Kira," L reveals suddenly, and Misa simply stands there, stunned by his pronouncement. "I know that it was selfish of me, but since I plan on releasing you from my custody tomorrow, I wanted something I could… take with me. That's all."

"Y-you're… letting me go?" she asks slowly, disbelievingly. "Really?"

"Really," L says, and the smile he gives her is a brittle one. Misa feels a complicated sense of relief and a pang of loss all at once, and this time she can't control the tears as they begin to fall anew.

--

**A/N:** and so, we as we race onwards toward calamity, i would like to sincerely thank everyone who has read and reviewed so far. your overwhelmingly positive response and encouragement is so very much appreciated. just two more chapters to go, everyone!


	22. it was too late, she's come undone

Neither of them sleep.

--

Their goodbyes are awkward and impersonal.

"So are you going to stay in Japan?" Misa asks, as she tries desperately to put off the inevitable. The thought of leaving L is unexpectedly painful, and she isn't prepared for what awaits her on the other side of those automatic sliding glass doors. Funny, the way her priorities have switched over these last few months in captivity. At the start of her imprisonment, she would have done anything for her freedom. Now that she actually _has_ it, the taste of it is bitter in her mouth, _unwanted_. "Are you still going to be working on the case?"

"Oh, yes," L reassures her quietly. "Although admittedly, I'm not exactly sure where to go from here, now that I've abandoned you and Light as my prime suspects."

Misa shrugs. It isn't really any of her concern right now. "So... can Misa maybe visit you sometimes, then...?"

L seems to hesitate. "Perhaps, if you'd like," he says finally.

She's a little disappointed by his lack of enthusiasm. He doesn't really seem to care _what_ comes next, after they plan to part ways. Was she the only one who had invested any feelings into this? How is it that L is so willing to simply let her _go_? Misa wracks her brain, and reminds herself that L has never verbally reciprocated any feelings of love - or for that matter, even vaguely hinted at anything other than lust and possessive longing. Maybe she's been reading too much into all this. Maybe she was the only one dumb enough to let something as complicated as 'feelings' get involved. Maybe her leaving is something of a relief to him, a removal of responsibility - and maybe he's a little sore about her not living up to his expectations, after all this time being so convinced of her guilt. Her innocence is... anti-climatic, perhaps, demystifying. She is no longer worthy of his attention any more.

_Maybe it's because he knows I'm not the Second Kira, and his infatuation ends there because of it_, Misa tries to rationalize. Then a much more grim thought occurs to her: _Or maybe it's because, deep down inside of himself, he knows that I will be the one to kill him in the end._

"Yes, Misa would," Misa says, although now she's not quite so sure.

_And maybe it's better that way._

_--_

There's no parked cars out in front of the Yagami household, and Misa isn't even sure he's home. Still, she rings the door bell anyway, and waits. It takes several minutes for Light to answer, and by the time he does, Misa is already walking back down the stairs of his porch in defeat. Then she hears his voice drifting out to greet her, and she turns around in surprise and elation:

"Misa?"

They regard each other silently for several moments, Misa suddenly unsure how to proceed. Light is so paradisiacal and god-like as he stands silhouetted in the doorway, the soft glow of the rising sun making his inquisitive eyes bright and shining. The sheer radiance of him nearly steals her breath away, and she feels suddenly inferior, unworthy.

_I have failed you so many times these past months_, she thinks with a frown.

But Light is a benevolent and understanding God, and his voice is all liquid honey and forgiveness as his arms wrap around her and envelop Misa in his familiar warmth. Misa teeters threateningly, dizzy with relief that he has so willingly accepted her back into his good graces, now that they have been officially re-united.

"Light, I'm so sorry..." she whispers throatily.

"It doesn't matter, Misa," Light reassures her firmly. "I'm just glad that you've come back to me."

She gives a shuddery little laugh of joy at that, holding onto him even tighter. Eventually, Light gently extracts himself from her vice-like grip, gathering her by the hand instead and leading her gently up the stairs toward his bedroom. By the time they reach the landing, her yearning for him is so intense it's almost like a sickness.

--

Afterwards, Light is all business.

"I need you to kill L, Misa," he tells her, and Misa bites her lower lip tentatively. She has been anticipating him to make this request of her ever since her arrival at his doorstep; has spent all afternoon dreading it. She shrinks away at the sound of his commanding tone.

"Misa... Misa doesn't remember his name, Light," she admits timidly.

Something that may have been irritation flickers across Light's face; a beat later, and then it's gone. "That's okay. But I have to stress the importance of eliminating him; even if he doesn't presently suspect us, it is highly probable that he will come to again, in the near future. He is our greatest adversary; an undeniable threat that must be destroyed at all costs, in order to ensure our survival."

"You want Misa to make the Eye Trade again, then?" Misa asks.

"I could never ask you to do such a thing, Misa. However..."

"No, it's okay. Misa will do it." She looks around the room curiously, for the first time becoming aware of the apparent absence of Shinigami. "Where is Rem? And Ryuk?"

"I've had to send Rem away, since she became visible to L and the others after we recovered Higuichi's notebook." Misa nods. "Ryuk, however, is attached to our stand-in Kira, Teru Mikami."

The blonde blinks. "You mean it _wasn't _Takada?" she asks, taken aback by the revelation.

"It's brilliant, isn't it?" Light asks with a tinkling little laugh. "She has served me as a ruse, this whole time. I purposely asked her to be my girlfriend in hopes of drawing L's suspicion to her. And it worked marvelously."

"But who's Teru Mikami?"

"A prosecutor who works for a law firm in Tokyo," Light says, grinning broadly. "He was the ideal candidate for the job. He's heavily sympathetic to our cause, and as an added bonus, reveres Kira as a _God_. His ideals are incredibly similar to my own; in fact, our wave-lengths are _so_ parallel that I knew L would have immense trouble differentiating the two of us. That's what I was counting on, naturally; I _wanted_ L to probe me, deeply and immediately; the more thorough he was with his investigation of me and Takada, the sooner he would become more befuddled as we proved ourselves to be innocent. Mikami has done unspeakably well in deterring L's suspicions."

"How do you know him, though? How did you guys meet?" Misa asks, confused.

Light laughs again, and this time it is a mad cackle. "That's the best part, Misa! _We've never met_! I saw him at a Pro-Kira rally in the park one day, and was so inspired by his heart-felt speech that I decided to do a little research on him. The more I learned about him, the more I realized he could be of use to me. Once I became sure of his loyalty, I had Rem go to the site where Ryuk's Death Note was hidden, and had her direct Ryuk to deliver a letter of instruction I had composed for Mikami, along with several pages from the buried Notebook. The Death Note remained hidden, while Ryuk dug it up and ripped more pages out of it as Mikami needed them before burying it again. That way, should L somehow ever find out Mikami _was_ the one in charge of the killings, he wouldn't find the Death Note physically on him. There would be no proof! Furthermore, because Mikami and I have never met, L would have no way of connecting me to the killings! Genius, isn't it?"

Light grins at her maniacally, so utterly convinced in his brilliance. Misa has to admit - from the way Light tells it, the plan did seem pretty fool-proof; furthermore, it has succeeded in doing exactly what Light had hoped it would: it has swayed L's convictions, has sewn the seeds of doubt that had eventually led to Misa's freedom.

A thought occurs to Misa. "So he's the only one conducting the killings?" she inquires, and Light nods. "He has the Eyes, doesn't he?"

"Yes. I specifically instructed him to do that in order to convince L of _your_ innocence as well. In a way, getting you kidnapped was probably the best thing that could have happened to us." Light beams at her happily, and Misa blushes.

"Misa's... glad you think so."

"So, once you've done away with L, I can relieve Mikami of his duty and re-assume my mantle as Kira."

"But... how is Misa going to do that, if Mikami is attached to Ryuk, and _you're_ attached to Rem? Misa won't be able to make the Trade."

"I'm going to give up ownership of the Death Note. Once I pass it onto you, Rem will become attached you once again; then you can made the deal for the Eyes."

"But isn't Rem's Death Note locked up somewhere?" Misa asks blankly, uncomprehending. "I thought the Task Force confiscated it when Higuichi was murdered..."

"You don't need to have the actual book itself in your possession in order to hold ownership over it," Light tells her, smirking. "And I keep a piece of the Death Note on me at all times, in _here_." He extends his forearm before her, displaying his wrist-watch. Misa observes in wonder as Light twists the tiny knob on its side three times, and then a hidden compartment suddenly pops open, revealing a tiny scrap of lined notebook paper.

"No way," she breathes in awe.

"_Way_." He pulls out the tiny clipping with his thumb and his forefinger. "Once I relinquish ownership of the Death Note, you can summon Rem and retrieve your Eyes. Upon killing L, you can turn ownership back over to me, and I will have Mikami give up his position as the Stand-in Kira. Then you and I dig up Ryuk's Notebook and side-be-side, we can continue to cleanse the world of evil."

"There's just one problem though..." Misa says slowly, and Light furrows his brows at her. "...I don't know if I'll be able to see L again. He did not seem too thrilled when Misa asked if he wanted to keep in touch."

Light does not seem nearly concerned about this little essential detail as she does. "Is he still in the country? Is he still going to be working on the Investigation?"

"Well, yes, but..." she begins hesitantly, but Light interrupts her with a wave of his hand.

"Misa, he _loves_ you. Trust me, if you request an audience, he _will_ grant you one."

"W-what? Really?" she asks, and suddenly there is an explosion of butterflies in her stomach, a euphoric and vaguely queasy feeling. Light looks at her strangely and she presses eagerly, "are you sure?"

"Uh... yeah, it's pretty obvious." She isn't sure why Light revealing this to her makes her so unspeakably happy, but it _does_. "Worse case scenario, you just show up at Taskforce Headquarters saying you have stumbled across some information regarding the Kira case. That will definitely pique his interest. And once you see his face, you can excuse yourself into the bathroom and jot his name down there." He twirls the tiny scrap of paper between his fingers thoughtfully. "Try to get a glance at Mello and his other heirs. And Watari too. If you write small enough, you_ should_ be able to get at least five or six names down if you use both sides. Just make sure L's name is the _first _one you write down. He is their pillar, their support system, the one that they rally around; if he goes, the others are sure to fall, even if we can't kill them all personally."

"Kill L first," Misa echoes faintly. "Right."

"Wont it be wonderful, Misa? With L dead, we will be free to continue our construction of a new world. Nothing will stand in our way," Light scoops her up into his arms, bringing her close and gazing down into her eyes. "I will rule as a God over this realm, and I will make _you_ my Goddess. We can create our own utopian society; our own Happily Ever After."

"Yes... very wonderful..." Misa murmurs, looking away.

Light notices her apprehension and pulls her even more impossibly close. "I know that this has been tough on you," he says softly. "And you've done so much for me already. I hate to ask you this one last favor Misa, but this is a necessary offensive action we must take. I _want_ you to be there with me. I don't want to see you caught, hurt, or worse. L is our mortal enemy, and his meddling can prove to be potentially lethal if we don't step in _now_. Truly, I wish we didn't have to kill him; I wish we could somehow get him to _understand_ us,_ aid_ us even. But L has sworn himself over to the dark side, and so..." he shakes his head ruefully. "Unfortunately, it has to be him or us, Misa."

Misa nods. "O-of course, Light. Misa is just... sorry that it has to be like this."

"Me too," Light swears sorrowfully, and he looks as though he truly means so. "Believe me, Misa; I feel _exactly_ the same way."

--

Light is eager to do away with his opposition, and so that night he takes Misa's discarded bra and makes an incision in the padded part with a pair of scissors, sliding the piece of the Death Note inside. Then he sews it loosely back up, passing the garment back over to her.

"It should tear open easily enough when the time comes, now that the fabric has been compromised," Light tells her. "Go ahead and put it on." She does as he instructs, sliding the straps over her shoulder and clasping them in the back. He watches her with a critical eye as she twists at the waist, trying it out. "How does it feel?"

"Itches a little," she admits, scratching in the place where the Death Note is pressing up against the underside of her breast. Light frowns at that, but then shrugs.

"Oh well, a little discomfort is a small price to pay for the survival of a New World," he says, smiling at her. "Now, remember: as soon as I relinquish my hold on Rem's Death Note, I want you set out _immediately_ for Taskforce HQ. Rem will no doubt be aware of the change in ownership as soon as it happens; summon her along the way in order to make the Shinigami Eye trade. Any questions?"

Misa takes her shirt that he's holding out to her, and pulls it over her head. She mentally goes over everything he's just told her, and finally shakes her head. "No," she says. "Misa gets it. Afterwards Misa will come back and trade ownership back over to you, right? You don't want Misa to try and steal Rem's notebook back for you, so we both can have one?"

"The notebook is in an underground vault somewhere, under heavy surveillance. Don't worry about it; Ryuk's notebook will be enough to share between the two of us. Just make sure you hang onto the scrap I've sewn into your bra, even after you've killed L with it; I need to touch that piece in order to have ownership returned to me in the meantime." Misa nods. "Anything else?"

"Nope, that's it." Light smiles at her.

"Alright, then. It's time." He takes a deep breath, taking her hands in his. His palms are slightly sweaty. "This is never fun," he admits, making a face. "The loss of control, I mean. But we all have to make sacrifices, right?" Misa nods sympathetically and tries to smile, but it comes out more as a tortured grimace.

_Sacrifices? You have no idea, Light. _Still, she has successfully steeled herself for what's coming next: has mentally prepared herself for the essential task Light has set before her. _Him or us... him or us..._

"Okay. So here goes..." Light's hazel eyes disappear behind dark eyelashes. His grip on her tightens, to the point where it's almost painful. Misa suddenly recalls the conversation she and L had, on that night of her fateful revelation -

_"I love you."_

_"You love Light more."_

- and knows that L was right all along.

"I relinquish ownership of my Death Note," Light says. Misa isn't sure what to expect in the dismissal of his memories, but it certainly wasn't _this_: this... well, this _absence_ of something. There is no explosion of light, no discordant sound of an angelic choir, no sudden rush of wind. Light doesn't scream or twist or writhe as his memories are sucked out of him; outwardly, _absolutely nothing happens_.

Then Light opens his eyes, and blinks at her a little confusedly. If Misa didn't know any better, she wouldn't have thought anything had changed.

Except that it _has_. Everything has changed.

--

"Are you_ sure _it was a good idea to let her through security, L?" Mello asks apprehensively. He and the other children are currently crowded around L as they await Misa's entrance to the surveillance room. "Somehow I don't get the feeling she's here to simply pay you a _visit_."

"Yeah, man," Matt agrees nervously. "I mean I like Misa and all, but this whole thing reeks of foul play, L."

"I'm not worried," L says, and Matt and Mello exchange glances, before looking down at Near. The white-haired prodigy remains silent, but the look he's wearing suggests he has some misgivings of his own. In response to his look, the other two children grow even antsier.

Then there is an elevator chime in the distance, and a moment later Misa tentatively walks in, flanked by Watari. The blonde looks dejected, her eyes dull and colorless as her gaze sweeps about the room, taking in the three heir's frowning expressions before settling on L at last. The wiry detective has his hands shoved in his pockets as Misa regards him stonily.

"Hello, Misa-san," he says at last, as Misa's face gradually becomes more and more devoid of color. "Is something troubling you? You seem quite ill."

"M-Misa's sorry. I'm... I'm so... so very sorry," she tells him earnestly, her eyes growing suddenly watery. "I've... I've come to share with you some important information I've discovered regarding the Kira case."

The three orphans visibly tense up. Even Watari seems a little uncomfortable. Only L remains unmoved by the announcement. "Oh?" he asks mildly. "And what might that be?"

Misa mumbles something, frowns, and then lapses into silence. Mello and Matt lean forward eagerly in anticipation, straining to hear as L asks quietly, patiently, "I'm sorry Misa-san, but could you repeat that please?"

Misa clears her throat, and when she speaks her voice is louder, but wavers threateningly under the strain: "I said, Teru Mikami is Kira."

No one removes. No one even _breathes_. The others seemed shell-shocked, to say the very least.

"Teru... Mikami?" L repeats slowly and deliberately, and Misa nods feverishly. Then she bursts into tears.


	23. for the girl who has everything

Because in the end, she can't find it in herself to choose.

"Teru Mikami is Kira."

Because in the end, after all she's gone through, after all she's come to realize, she can't _do_ it. Looking into L's expectant face, watching those onyx colored eyes stare at her so serenely, and gazing at him in return with her own rose-tinted lenses - she knows she can't possibly kill him. There is simply no way - she _loves _him. And maybe she's weak; maybe she's a fool; maybe she's misguided and over-emotional and maybe she lacks conviction (she has never been sturdy like Light, strong like Light. She can never _be_ Light, with his iron fist of judgment, his righteous ability to purge the world by fire), but she simply can't do it. The thought of losing L is simply too much to bare.

So instead, she tells him the truth: tells him that Teru Mikami is Kira; tells L that he was right in thinking there was another notebook out there somewhere, because there _is_. She reveals its location to him, pinpoints its position exactly so he can dig it up himself. She explains about the Shinigami Ryuk, about the delivery of pages in order to avoid to being caught with hard evidence. She even explains the Eyes - a trade made between Shinigami and Human - the ability to see another mortal's lifespan at the cost of half the beholder's remaining lifespan. She tells him all of this, careful to leave out all the parts that would connect Teru Mikami to Light Yagami. Because in the end, like with L, she can't bare to lose him _either - _her beautiful boy, her wrathful God, her first-love.

She makes it sound as though Mikami has always been operating as the original Kira, and has just been exceedingly clever about eluding suspicion. L seems to accept her explanation without skepticism - after all, these are all facts he's going to check up on later. Of course, in revealing this very concise, very elaborate plot, Misa knows that she's putting herself in danger - that she's basically admitting to them that she i_s_ the Second Kira after all. But this tiny detail is irrelevant, because she knows she has been a pawn in this, an expendable tool on both ends, from the start. Light had used her for her Eyes, and L had used her in hopes of unearthing evidence. Well, Misa has given L his evidence, and she has served Light long enough. She has outlived her use from both perspectives, and she's perfectly fine with that.

She can die happy, because L is alive and well, and will remain that way for a very long time. She can die happy, because Light is oblivious, his memories having been revoked for a second and final time - and because of it, he has been removed from responsibility, is innocent and guilt-free. Light is _safe._

(Besides, even if she _did_ kill L, Light could never be free to rule in harmony. L has a whole school of successors, clever children hell-bent on justice and righteousness. He would never stop being under suspicion. They would hunt him relentlessly until the day he died.)

There is a stunned silence following the wake of her explanation. Then L turns abruptly to Watari.

"Watari," he tells the elder man. "We need to devise a SWAT Team to go in and apprehend the suspect, as well as comb his place of living for any stray pages of the notebook - any hard evidence we can use to connect him to his crimes."

Watari pivots on his heel when Mello interrupts him, throwing out an arm to stop him.

"No," he says. "_I _want to go_. I _want to be the one to bust this asshole." He turns to L imploringly. "L? Please?"

The pale-skinned detective is silent for a moment. "Fine," he says, and Mello looks slightly taken aback, as though he didn't really expect L to comply with the request. "Watari," L says, glancing up into the wrinkled face of his older companion. "A change in plans, then. Please provide Mello with some protective gear to guard him against the Shinigami Eyes. A tinted helmet will suffice." And glancing over at Matt, he adds, "and find one for Matt as well, as I suspect he'll want to tag along." The redhead nods vigorously before beaming at Mello, who grins rakishly back. "Please take van number #4 to shuttle them to Mikami's residence."

Watari nods.

"Meanwhile, Near and I will accompany Misa to the site she specified to unearth the notebook." He puts a hand on Misa's shoulder, steadying her shuddering form beside him. His voice is gentle, soothing. "Misa, will it be necessary to bring shovels, or any other such other digging utensils?"

"N-no," she tells him, between hiccupping sobs. "I c-can use my h-h-hands."

L nods. "Alright then. Let's go."

--

She is faintly surprised when L slides into the driver's seat.

"Y-you can _drive_?" she says, and as soon as it comes out of her mouth Misa realizes how dumb she sounds, going slightly pink in the face. She does not take the open seat behind him in the front, instead deciding to crawl into the back with the stoic, fair-haired prodigy known as Near.

"I don't have a legal driver's license in Japan," L tells her, as he turns the key in the ignition. "But I scarcely believe that it matters here, being that I am L." There is a ghost of a smile on his face, a wry smirk. He puts the car in reverse, glancing over his shoulder as he backs out of the parking space. Misa stares at him, befuddled - seeing L do something so utterly normal makes it all the more weirder. The sheer mundanity of the task seems contradictory to what L represents, seems somehow beneath him. As if the whole situation didn't seem surreal enough... Misa could have laughed, if she didn't feel so sick.

_What's going to happen to me...?_ She thinks, as L puts it into 'drive' and pulls out of the parking structure before merging into traffic. _Will he execute me? Confine me for life? Probably the former... the government wants Kira to disappear, even if the masses don't. _

Even with this in mind, she doesn't regret her decision on the matter. L is safe, Light is safe, and Kira can finally be put to rest. Her boys will keep on breathing - will keep on living, even if Misa doesn't.

And that is enough, even if it doesn't bode well for her.

--

There is a restive moment when Misa digs up Death Note, and hands it obediently over to L. The shaggy haired detective holds it in that curious manner of his, just a scant few inches from his face, inspecting the contour of its cover critically. Then he passes it over to Near, who tucks it under his arm.

Ryuk is standing bow-legged before them, his big glassy eyes flicking from Misa to L and Near. Misa holds her breath and prays that Ryuk won't say something to give Light away.

"Shinigami Ryuk," L says pleasantly, after Near has taken in Ryuk's towering black-swathed form without so much as a blink. Misa is amazed by the albino child's steady gaze, his apparent lack of fear, his simple acceptance of such a creature's warped existence. _She _certainly had reacted _much _differently the first time she laid eyes on a Shinigami, back when her own Death Note was first dropped to Earth. She had been horror-struck, dubious, confused. But with Near, there wasn't even so much as a widening of the eyes. Remarkable. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Ryuk does not answer right away, still staring intently at them. Misa is really starting to worry now, starting to sweat a little at her brow. _Please oh please oh please..._ she thinks desperately, worriedly. _Please, Ryuk, I want to save Light!_

Ryuk's gaze almost imperceptibly shifts to Misa, taking in her quaking form and her flushed face. His already enormous grin grows just that much wider, and Misa tries to shake her head discreetly, hoping fervently like she can somehow convey the severity of the situation to Ryuk. Then the shinigami throws back his head and laughs, a deep booming sound that echoes throughout the trees.

"Hyuk hyuk hyuk!"

"What's so funny?" L asks interestedly, peering up at him.

Ryuk glances at Misa, and then shrugs. "Nothing," he says in that gravelly voice of his. "You're just... really clever, you know that?"

L looks as though he's about to agree, when suddenly his phone chirps in his pocket. "Excuse me, Ryuk-san," he says politely, bowing his head slightly. "But I need to take this call."

"Kya ha, sure," Ryuk waves him off, his pointy head bobbing with the effort of his chuckling. "Be my guest."

L nods and shuffles a few steps away, his back turned to them as he flips open his cell-phone and brings it up to his ear. "Hello?" he says, and even with the effort he's put into giving himself at least some semblance of privacy, it is all very obviously in vain when Mello's jubilant voice rings out:

"L! We've got him! And guess what?! We found some papers on him with yesterday's murders written on them! It's really him!!" Mello continues to blather on excitedly and L steps a few more paces away so that he's no longer within hearing range.

Misa is fully aware of Ryuk's eyes on her, and tries her best to look nonchalant, mentally willing him to look somewhere else. It's not so much that she's afraid of Ryuk personally identifying her - after all, he can't make her look any more guilty that she already does - but she doesn't want him asking unnecessary or potentially devastating questions, like asking about Light.

Fortunately, Ryuk either senses her distress or he simply doesn't see the benefit of inquiring about the brunette, and mercifully remains silent. L returns back to the group a few seconds later, stuffing the cell-phone into the deep recesses of his jeans as he does so.

"They're bringing Mikami back to Taskforce HQ for interrogation," L says. "Naturally, I am very interested in meeting him. In a highly artificial environment, of course."

Near nods. Misa and Ryuk say nothing.

--

The next few weeks are tense.

Fortunately, Mikami does not break under the pressure of L's brutal methods. Light has done well in choosing him: the man is quite obviously willing to give up his life in order to protect his God's sanctity. He says nothing that alludes to another Kira; assumes all of the blame himself; insists that he has been acting independently this whole time, instead of revealing that he was a pawn, another successor in a lineage of supernatural mass murderers. By the end of the month, L seems completely convinced that Mikami is the person he's wrongfully accused Light of being this entire time - the first Kira.

Misa is immensely relieved, but she still doesn't know what this all means for her. She knows L plans to execute Mikami - has overheard him discussing it with his heirs and Watari - but has made no mention of Misa's personal fate thus far. Ever since Mikami's apprehension, L has had little to no personal contact with Misa, although he has adamantly requested that she remain under surveillance here, beneath the roof of Taskforce Headquarters.

Now that the interrogation is over, and L has been successfully converted into believing that Mikami is Kira, she begins to see him more. He mingles with the children, with Watari; makes calls to the former Taskforce members and Interpol. He arranges his fees for closing the case, sets an execution date, and makes appointments for conference calls with elected officials from all over the world. L is powering down, and although he is bland and as yeastless as ever, there is a certain degree of triumph within him that she hasn't seen before, a kind of _swagger_. She supposes he has reason to mentally congratulate himself on a job well done, over and over again - he has finally brought Kira to justice, has almost single-handedly solved the most intricately-woven serial murder case in history. L has _won_.

If Misa were a better person, she might have felt bad that she had willingly condemned Mikami to death. But she doesn't - because in sacrificing him, she can save Light's life. And Light's life is her main priority now, after L's safety has been assured. Mikami's death is a tragic, but necessary one. He knew the risks, when he assumed his role as the Stand-in Kira; if anything, he should be honored to be deemed worthy enough to die in the place of his Lord.

But Misa isn't a good person, a just person: she is selfish and wanton and Mikami's future is not her concern right now. Although to be perfectly honest, she is a little apprehensive concerning her own. For a while she's content with simply not knowing - she tries to treasure these days, knowing that they very well might be her last. The week before Mikami's scheduled execution, however, she can take living in the dark no longer. She _has _to know.

"L," she says urgently, seizing the detective by the shoulder as he slouches by, yanking him backwards into one of the computer chairs next to Near. The white-haired youth is currently examining the pages of Mikami's Death Note under a magnifying glass, and does not look up as the back of L's chair goes careening into the desk he is currently occupying. "Misa wants to talk to you."

"Is something amiss, Misa-san?" he asks her innocently.

"Yes, something _is_," Misa says tersely. "Misa can't stand not knowing anymore. Misa knows you plan on killing Mikami; but what do you plan to do with _her_?"

L blinks owlishly at her. "I beg your pardon?"

"Me, L, _me_!" Misa shrieks, shaking him violently.

L's hands gently reach out and capture her wrists, delicately removing them from his shoulders. "Please cease your throttling of me," he says demurely. "You're giving me a headache."

"But L..."

He arches an eyebrow at her. "I wasn't planning on doing anything, to be perfectly honest. You've been a great help here, Misa. If anything, I should thank you."

She stares at him blankly, her mouth hanging open. "What are you talking about?" she asks skeptically. "Are you insane? I mean I--"

"--Provided me with necessary information I needed in order to apprehend Kira. The notebooks have been destroyed, and the heart-attacks have ceased. That is largely thanks to your doing, Misa. Without you, I may have never been able to close this case. I may have never been able to bring Kira to justice. You have my sincerest gratitude."

Misa blinks, befuddled. "But you... I mean I..." she sputters unintelligibly. Then she shakes her head, and continues, louder this time: "But don't you get it? I'm the--"

"Please don't."

L's voice is quiet, sincere. It's the half-pleading nature of it that causes Misa to recoil in shock, immediately lapsing into silence. She stares at L, her manner suddenly a parody of L's own: her wide-eyed gaze, her disheveled appearance. Misa's mouth moves several times, but the only thing that comes out is a strangled voice.

"Please don't say anything," L continues is a voice barely above a murmur. "You have yet to explicitly confess something to me, and I'd much rather if we kept it that way."

"But... I..." Misa tries, before L interrupts her.

"As far as I'm concerned, the Kira case is considered closed. It is beyond us now - old news, the past. So let's move beyond it, shall we?"

They stare at each other as Near continues to work diligently nearby, very pointedly ignoring the conversation taking place beside him. The youngest successor's hands smooth out the slightly yellowed pages, his fingers tracing the curve of each sweeping letter drawn between the lines. Misa doesn't know exactly what he means to achieve by doing this, but the boy's curious mannerisms are hardly her concern right now. The only thing that matters is _this_.

_This is why I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you._

"Thank you," she whispers. "I... I owe you my life, L, how can I ever repay you?"

"And I owe you mine," L tells her. _You could have killed me many times over, but you did not,_ he doesn't need to say, because they both _know_ it already. "So I guess you could call us even."

Belatedly, Misa realizes she's crying, but it's a happy kind of tears. She holds out her arms helplessly to him, unsure as to whether he will accept her or not - but in the end he does, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against his chest. She kisses him over and over again, smearing some of her tears on his face as she does so, but L doesn't seem to mind.

Suddenly, the future is very bright.

--

It's only after Misa has left the surveillance room in order to get herself a cup of tea and some aspirin ("I have a raging headache now," she complains, but she's smiling in a relieved, pleased sort of way as she discloses the information), that Near suddenly twists in his chair to address L.

"So you're going to grant her immunity?" he immediately inquires, and slight disbelief mars his otherwise monotonous voice. His tone is slightly accusatory. Near always was so very _blunt_, more critical of L than the others, who were blinded by their own devotion. That is part of the reason why L considers him the most worthy successor, the most likely heir to assume his title in the end: Near understands that L is fallible, openly acknowledges his human imperfections. He is critical, he is analytical, he is severe and he is skeptical, and L appreciates that.

"Mm-hmm," is all L says, as he reaches across the desk to fish a jelly bean out of the candy bowl. He pops it into his mouth and chews.

"How can you love a monster like that?" Near wonders aloud, turning his face away. "It seems so very off-kilter, even for you."

L smiles wanly at that. He rests his hand gently on the orphan's shoulder, who looks up in vague surprise. L has never touched him before. "Not really, if you think about it," he tells the boy very seriously. "Consider this, Near: even though I work to convict criminals, I also I strike deals with criminals, in order to convict _other_ criminals. I barter with them. I work with them. In some cases, I even rather enjoy their company." He nods fondly to himself, and Near knows that he's talking about Aiber and Wedy. "I have also been known to use any means necessary in order to bring an offender to justice, some of which methods are considered potentially unethical, and highly illegal. Bearing that in mind, you could say that I, myself, am a criminal. In which case, is it really such a stretch to think that I could love one as well?"

Near has nothing to say to that. Apparently satisfied, L moves to stand. "And now, if you'll excuse me," he says, and he actually musses Near's hair before he begins to walk away. The albino child gapes after him, disbelievingly and a little reprovingly, all in one. "I'm going to join Misa for a cup of tea downstairs."

And he goes to do exactly that.

--

**A/N:** :takes a deep breath:

And so there you have it. The entirety of _Dynamism_. It's been… one hell of a ride, hasn't it? I mean, seriously :blinks: I'm shocked, and a little mournful. This has been an enormous undertaking, my first foray into the _Death Note_ fandom, and a shockingly long, multi-chaptered one at that… it has been my baby, and although I'm glad to have finished it, I'm also sad that it's done. I'm going to miss writing it.

(Although there _will _be an epilogue chapter, a tiny scene I cut out from this last part – I'm going to put it up after Sakura posts the first pages of the _Dynamism_ doujinshi online – it's really just a filler so I can plug the comic itself, instead of something really all that relevant or outstanding in itself, chapter-wise. xD)

This fic was… such an enormous pain in the butt, at least behind-the-scenes. As you can see, there's still many, many grammatical errors and stupid typos. Eventually I'll get around to fixing all of them, just not right now xD I wrote myself into so many plot holes with this – like, seriously, you have no idea. _Dynamism_ was initially supposed to end about ten different ways, but I kept finding continuity errors or some other such thing that prevented me from utilizing them. (Original ideas included: L dying, Light dying, Misa dying, _everybody_ dying. Really. Nobody was safe from my twisted little mind, at least at one point.)

We can infer what we like from this last chapter, but we can assume that in executing Mikami, Light will be safe, because his memories have been wiped out and thus, he's oblivious and happy and innocent, just like Pre-Death-Note Light was. Whether Misa ends up going back to Light (which is likely, since he's her number 1), or whether she stays with L (also likely, since he granted her immunity and she loves him _too_), is entirely up to you. Although, since it's categorized as an LxMisa, I guess we should probably lean toward the latter ;)

I don't know if anyone else caught this, but I specifically made it so that L only revealed the true extent of his feelings at the very the end. In this final scene, he publically acknowledges that he loves Misa. Well, not that anyone doubted, but… yeah. It was supposed to be significant here. It was supposed to make you go "aww, what a nice ending." Dunno if I succeeded or not. xD

I've had two people ask me what "DMI" is, and I fully intended to answer it here except… I have no idea when I ever wrote DMI. You might be referring to when Matt says "TMI", which, for those of you who were wondering, means "Too much information." If this is wasn't what you were referring to, it was probably just a typo; either way, if you want to PM me and point out the specific passage to me, I'll be more than happy to clarify.

And, of course I want to tell you all how very grateful I am to all of you. Thanks to everyone who brought it upon themselves to review; thank you to everyone who so faithfully kept up with every chapter, who put me on their favorites and their alerts. Thank you for the PM's, the comic proposals (Sakurrrra xD I'm looking at yoooou), the encouragement and the praise. Extra thanks to those who pointed out the glaring grammatical errors and typos! OMG!

So… yeah. That's it, I guess? Longest A/N ever, oy. I guess I'll end it here.

Love,

keem


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